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PRINGFIELD 

PRL5ENT jinD 
PRO^SI^LCTIVE 



Ci)e Cttj) of lf?omES 

The Sources of Its Charm, Its 

Advantages, Achievements and 

Possibilities, Portrayed in Word 

and Picture 



Text by Eugene C. Gardner 
William Orr, J. Frank Drake 
Charles Goodrich Whiting 
Judge A. M. Copeland and others 

Draiuings by James Hall and 
George Clarence Gardner 

EDITED BY (AMES E. TOWER 



1905 
J)onU & Campbell, pnbltebrrs 

Springfield, Mass. 




PRINGFIELD 

PRL5ENT ^Tvz) 
PR05PLCT1VE 



Cbe Cttp of If^omts 

The Sources of Its Charm, Its 

Advantages, Achievements and 

PossibiHties, Portrayed in Word 

and Picture 



Text by Eugene C. Gardner 
William Orr, J. Frank Drake 
Charles Goodrich Whiting 
Judge A. M. Copeland and others 

D r a lit n g s by James Hall and 
George Clarence Gardner 

EDITED BY JAMES E. TOWER 



1905 
Pona & Campbell, ptiblteljcrB 

Springfield, Mass. 



5« 



Tl 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
TwD CoDiet Received 

FEB 3 .906 

CoDyrisht Entry 
elo<-a. 3/. ><i0S 
CLASS'' cu XXc, NO. 

COPY B. 



Copyright igoj by Pond & Campbell 



THE F. A. BASSETTE COMPANY 

Eiiijtavcrs ans pcintcra 

Springfield, Massachusetts 




♦O" f bcrcaftcr some ncwlv aCioptcJ> citijcn sball 
II ash "'Ullbat Did tbts man tbat be be so f(rm= 
'' Ig belCi in tbe remembrance anO love o( tbis 
people?" let tbe answer be: " IRot because be 
foun&cO tbat bospital or enOowe? tbat library or 
built tbat great factory, but because be love& bis 
fellow men, anO b\> bis courtesy sweeteneS tbe 
&ailB lite of our streets; bg bis covert acts of ftini5= 
ness comforted mang bearts; b\2 bis unselfisb service 
to otbers, bigbteneD our ifieal of beneficence, 
becoming tbe trusteCi aOviser of tbe wiC>ow anCi tbe 
orpban, tbe staff upon wbicb tbe sick IcaneJ) an? 
were upbelO, especlallv> tbe invali^ anO wounDcCi 
soldiers returning from tbe battlefields of tbe CivilanO 
Spanisb=amcrican XUars. Cbe vjoutb struggling for 
an eOucationfounMn bim a practical ano svmpatbetic 
frlenC*. Ibcnrv S. Xec, bg bis bonor anD perfect in= 
tegritv, kept alive in manv nunCis confluence in 
buman virtue and tattb in 0OC1. ail tbis anC> more 
be OiO wttbout seeming to know it. Cbis is wbg we 
bonor bim and keep bis memory green." 



BORN SEPTEMBER 19, 1834 DIED MAROH 29, 1902 



















iiiiiiiumfiiniKiiDiiiiJiiNiumjJiimuiiiiiiiHiuiiiiiinniijiiJiiuimMi 






.=1^ J 


i 





HE aim of this book is to hold the mirror up to Spring- 
field: a community whose qualities, in their varied 
significance, in the many lessons to be derived there- 
from, have little enough engaged the thought of its 
members; a dwelling-place whose visible charm, the 
pride of every resident, carrying its fair fame wherever Springfield 
is known, has a destiny of which we may see visions only after a 
careful survey of the spot as we find it today, endowed with rare 
gifts from Nature and stamped with the characteristics of its daily 
life. Nor is it aside from the purpose to proclaim our city far and 
wide, and share our enthusiastic discoveries with a larger public. 
The contributors and the Editor, as well as the publishers, look 
confidently forw'ard to something more than a sale for this book 
and a careful reading: should it not exert a positive influence, they 
would be surprised and disappointed. 

While Springfield is peculiarly fortunate in the possession of an 
able and representative periodical press, she is not satisfied to stand 
before the world in snap-shots or the panorama of the biograph; 
these do not show us as we are. The immediate need is not an 
exhaustive history, which is yet to come, nor a guide book, of which 
several have been made, but rather a study of our conditions and 
tendencies, with a view to the wonderful development which is 
possible in almost every direction. To us so much is given, we 
would not — must not — evade nor too long postpone the large duty 

which confronts us. 

vii 



VIII Springfield Present and Prospective 

Our city has more than held its own with other cities of the com- 
monwealth in growth and various development in the past decade; 
in fact, so marked is the expansion now going on, in several ways, 
that thoughtful and far-seeing citizens are moved to inquire as 
never before how we may gauge our views and our plans to corres- 
pond. The peculiar timeliness of this book, as remarked to the 
Editor by one person after another, renders it a happy inspiration. 
Its principal claim upon the community is to be found in actual 
service, which it has been the conscientious aim of all those connected 
with its preparation to give. If it but open our eyes to the signifi- 
cance of the forces now at work, the remarkable possibilities just 
ahead, and the exceeding beauty which we may have if we will, by 
taking thought, — the beauty which conies of symmetrical growth, 
rather than of money cost, — the book will have fulfilled a large 
mission. 

The word "discoveries" in a foregoing paragraph is used advis- 
edly. It is the earnest hope of the Editor that each and every 
reader will find in the pages which follow, the elements of surprise 
and enthusiasm which they have brought to him, in which event 
the book will serve its full purpose of enlightenment and inspiration. 
No one person knows Springfield thoroughly; it has grown too large 
and too complex for that. Nor could he, if he knew it ever so well, 
impart his knowledge and fervor short of a course of lectures. 

Springfield Present and Prospective, as a cursory examination 
will show, is written by real lovers of the place; enthusiasm is re- 
pressed only where a wound is deemed faithful and necessary, — 
where the constructive purpose involves something also of change. 

Generations to come will be indebted to Eugene C. Gardner, 
whose voice and pen and fine taste as an architect have been tirelessly 
employed in promoting the beauty of Springfield — a beauty which is 
not merely outward. In his chapter in this volume on The Visible 
Charm, the poet in Mr. Gardner is finely in evidence, and the ardent 
lover of his home city. 



Springfield Present and Prospective ix 

The influence of the Springfield Republican and its brilliant 
essayist, poet and critic, Charles Goodrich Whiting, for a cosmo- 
politan breadth and quality in all our living has been very great. 
The publishers and the Editor deem themselves fortunate in securing 
Mr. Whiting's review of art and literature as they exist among us. 
His contribution should be amended, however, by a fuller acknowl- 
edgment of his own service, of the high place he holds in current 
literature. 

Every contributor to this volume is a loyal and devoted son or 
daughter of Springfield — by birth or adoption — and speaks from the 
heart; for this the several writers were chosen. Principal Orr has a 
distinct message to the citizen concerning our schools, and valuable 
information for parents who are considering our city as a possible 
place of residence. The development of technical education, char- 
acteristic of our time, receives due recognition from the head of the 
technical high school, Mr. Warner. And there is no more significant 
and inspiring recital in the book than Librarian Wellman's account 
of the great work of the City Library association. 

A large and important field is surveyed by the secretary of the 
Board of Trade, |. Frank Drake. Francis Regal of the Republican's 
editorial staff is an active force in musical affairs and profoundly 
learned in the theory and practice of music. Howard Regal, his 
brother, was formerly the dramatic critic. 

The Story of Springfield is the joint production of Alfred M. 
Copeland, Esq., associate judge of the police court and the historian 
of Hampden county, and Edwin Dwight, journalist, a descendant 
of the historic family of Dwights. 

Mrs. Doggett, who traces the work of the women's clubs, is an 
active member of the Women's club and president of the College 
club, and is the wife of President Doggett of the International Young 
Men's Christian association training school; Richard Hooker, repre- 
senting the men's clubs, is the associate of Samuel Bowles in the pub- 
lication of the Springfield Republican. Rev. John Luther Kilbon is 



Sprtngpeld Present anJ Prospective 



the {>astor of Park Congregational church and was formerlv an 
editor of the Congregationalist. Edward A. Hall is a prominent 
member of the Cathedral parish and the president of the St. Vincent 
de Paul society. 

On the side of illustration and embellishment the work has been 
carried on with no less devotion. The lettering and decorations are 
largely the work of James Hall of New York, formerly supervisor 
of drawing in our own public schools. George Clarence Gardner, 
whose excellent drawings have to do with "The Visible Chann" of 
our city, is an architect, the son of Eugene C. Gardner. The work 
of local photographers, notably E. J- Lazelle, H. E. Bosworth and 
A. D. Copeland, has been supplemented with a collection of views 
taken especially for this book by Clifton Johnson, whose camera 
has illustrated books of travel in America, England. Ireland. Scot- 
land and France. The portrait work of George H. \ an Norman. 
whose skill as a portrait artist is known throughout the country-, 
should also be mentioned here. 

It is but just, in closing, to ascribe the conception of this book, 
and in the main the choice of topics and writers, to the two young 
men who are its publishers. Theirs was the plan and the direction, 
for the most part; it was the privilege of the Editor to do something 
more than assister, as the French put it, — to be present when the 
work was done — but honor to whom honor is due. 

The Edftor. 



CONTENTS 



The Visible Charm: As It Was, Is, and May Be 

Eugene C. Gardner I 

I. Looking Backward — Nature's Legacy, I ; From Center to Circumference, 3. 
n. Plan of the Ground Floor — The Inner Circle, 8; Broader Outlooks, 13. 
IIL Architectural Garments — The Personal Equation in Houses, 17; Com- 
mercial and Municipal, 19; Churches. Monumenti and Chimneys, 21. 
rV. Looking Forward— Bed Rock, zy. What the River Asks and Gives, 24. 
Biographies — Tilly Haynes, 30; O. H. Greenleaf, 31; Justin Sackett, 31; Daniel 
J. Marsh, 31; Everett H. Barney, 31; Nathan D. Bill, 31. 

Educational Institutions JVillumi Orr 33 

The Public Schools, 33; Certain Other Schools, 40. 

Technical Education Charles F. Warner 43 

Art and Literature Charles Goodrich Whiting 49 

The Art Museum, 49; George Walter Vincent Smith — a Sketch, 49; The James 
D. Gill Exhibitions of Paintings, 53; Statues and other works of Art, 54; Local 
Representatives of Art, 55. Springfield on the Side of Letters, 58. 

City Library Association Hiller C. Welhnan 66 

The Public Library, 66; The Science Museum, 71. 

Music and the Drama Francis E. and Harvard K. Regal 73 

The Orpheus Club, 74; The Music Festival, 76; The Springfield Music Festival 
Association, 78; Theatrical Matters, 80. 

The Story of Springfield Alfred M. Copeland and Edwin Dwight 83 

Glimpses of Events and Incidents and Men that Figured in Springfield's History, 
84; Springfield in the Wars, 108; The United States Armory, 112; Springfield's 
Growth, 114. 

Our Soldier Citizen: A Tribute Charles Goodrich Whiting ii8 

Religion and Charities Rev. John Luther Kilbon 123 

Early Days— the First Church, 123; Olivet Congregational, 124; South Congrega- 
tional, 125; North Congregational, 12;; Hope Congregational, 125; Faith Congre- 
gational, 126; Eastern Avenue Congregational, 126; Park Congregational, 126; 
Emmanuel Congregational, 126; Union Evangelical, Indian Orchard, 126; Church 
of the Unity, 126; Asbury M. E., 127; Wesley M. E., 127; Trinity M. E., 128; 
Grace M. E., 128; St. James M. E., 128; First Baptist, 128; State Street Baptist, 
129; Highland Baptist, l29;Carew Street Baptist, 129; Park Avenue Memorial 
Baptist, 129; Christ Church (Episcopal) 130; St. Peter's Episcopal, 130; St. Paul's 
Universalist, 130; Second Universalist, 131; Third Universalist, 131; Memorial 
(Union Evangelical), 131; New Jerusalem, 131; Advent Christian, 131; Presby- 
terian, 131; Disciples, 131. Other Parishes and Missions, 132, 133. 
The Leading Philanthropic Organizations, 133 — Hampden County Truant School, 
133; Springfield Hospital, 133; Cynthia Wesson Hospital, 133; Home for Friendless 



XII List of Contents 



Women and Children, 133; Union Relief Association, 134; Hale Fund, 134; Aged 
Couples' Fund, 134; Penny Provident Bank, 134; Hampden County Children's Aid 
Association, 135; Industrial House Charities, 1^5; Springfield Home for Aged 
Women, 135; Springfield Boys' Club, 135; Ferry Street Settlement, 136; Home 
for Aged Men, 136. 

Y. M. C. A. AND Y. W. C. A. irtUiam Knowles Cooper 137 

The Roman Catholic Church Edward A. Hall 139 

The First Catholic Parish, 139; St. Michael's Cathedral, 142; Church of the Sacred 
Heart, 144; St. Joseph's Church, 146; St. Matthew's Church, 146; St. Aloysius' 
Church, 147; Church of the Immaculate Conception, 147; St. Augustine's Parish, 
147; Holy Family Parish, 147. House of the Good Shepherd, 148; Mercy Hospital, 
149; St. Vincent de Paul, 150. 

Social Life James E. Tower 151 

The Women's Clubs Carolyn G. Doggett 153 

The Club. 156; Cosmian, 156; Women's Political Class, 156; Women's Club, 157; 
Cosmopolitan, 159; Traveling, 159, 160; Kindergarten, 159, 160; Mothers,' 159,160; 
Thursday, 159; Fortnightly, 159; Morning, 159; Early Morning, 159; Atalanta, 159; 
Wednesday Morning, 159; Book and Thimble, 159; Teachers,' 161; College, 161. 
List of Clubs with Date of Organization and Membership, 162. 

The Men's Clubs Richard Hooker 163 

Country Club, 163; Manchconis, 164; Oxford, 165; Rockrimmon Golf, 165; Spring- 
field Canoe, 165; Springfield Yacht, 165; Springfield Boat, 166; Atlanta Boat, 166; 
Rockrimmon Boat and Canoe, 166; Nayasset, 166; Winthrop, 167; Elks, 167. 

Springfield a Commercial Center J. Frank Drake 169 

Industrial Arteries, 172; Introduction of a Street Railway, 174; Sources of Strength, 
178; The Springfield Board of Trade, 180; A Diversity of Enterprises— Some 
which have Helped in Upbuilding Springfield, 1S2 — Springfield Fire and Marine 
Insurance Company (183), Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (185), 
G. & C. Merriam Companv (188), Wason Manufacturing Company (189), Smith & 
Wesson (190), Barney & Berry Company (191), Milton Bradley Company (192), R. 
H. Smith Manufacturing Company (192), W. D. Kinsman Company (193), Forbes 
& Wallace (194), Meekins, Packard & Wheat (194), Smith & Murray (195), Haynes 
& Company (195), Charles Hall (196), Kibbe Brothers Company (196), E. Stebbins 
Manufacturing Company (197), Bay State Corset Company (197), Fisk Manufac- 
turing Company (198), Knox Automobile Company (199), Elektron Manufacturing 
Company (199), Taber-Prang Art Companv (200), Massasoit House (200), Cooley's 
Hotel (200); The Press, 201 — Springfield Republican (201), Springfield Union (203), 
Daily News (204), Homestead (206), Phelps Publishing Company (206); Financial 
Institutions, 208— Second National Bank (208), Chicopee National Bank (209), 
John Hancock National Bank (209), First National Bank (210), Third National 
Bank (210), Chapin National Bank (21 1), City National Bank (21 1), Springfield 
Safe Deposit and Trust Companv (21 1), Springfield National Bank (212), Hamp- 
den Trust Company (212), Springfield Institution foi Savings (212), Five Cents 
Savings Bank (213), Hampden Savings Bank (2i4)« 



PORTRAITS 



Henry S. Lee 

E. C. Gardner 

Tilly Haynes 

O. H. Greenleaf 

Justin Sackett 

Daniel J. Marsh 

Everett H. Barney 

William Orr 

Thomas M. Balliett 

Wilbur F. Gordy 

Charles Goodrich Whiting 

George Walter Vincent Smith 

Chester Harding Geo. 

William S. Elwell 

Judge William S. Shurtleff 

JosiAH G. Holland 

Samuel Bowles 

Rev. William Rice 

Nathan D. Bill 

The Orpheus Club in the Days 

Henry F. Trask 

George W. Chadwick 

J. J. Bishop 

Mrs. W. p. Mattoon 

Judge A. M. Copeland 

William Pynchon 

Rev. Dr. Samuel G. Buckingham 

Rev. a. K. Potter 

D. B. Wesson 

Rt. Rev. Thomas D. Beaven 

Rt. Rev. P. T. O'Reilly 

Rev. James J. McDermott 

Chester W. Chapin 



FOLLOWING PAGE 

Geo. H. Fan Norman (Frontispiece) 

I 
22 • 
24' 
24' 
26- 

30 
32 
34 
38 
48 

50 
56 
56 
60 
60 

64 
66 



D. y. Bordeaux 
Geo. H. Fan Norman 



Frances Benjamin "Johnston 

H. Fan Norman {from painting) 
(Courtesy of Charles G. fFhiting) 
{Courtesy Springfield Homestead) 



Geo. H. Fan Norman 
OF Its Youth 
{Courtesy Springfield Homestead) 

Geo. H. Fan Norm/in 



George H. Fan Norman 

{Courtesy JV. F. Adams) 

{Courtesy W. F. Adams) 

H. C. Moore 

H. C. Moore 
H. C. Moore 
H. C. Moore 



72 

7+ 
78 
80. 
82 
82 
86 
122. 

132 
134 
138 
142 
142 
168 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Page 



Illustrating "The Visible Charm" 

Drawings by George Clarence Gardner 

4 
6 

12 

Following Page 24 
28 
30 



First Church — the Civic Center of Gravity 
Diagram Showing Natural Growth of City 
Parks and Boulevards — As They Are 
Parks and Boulevards — The Completed Chain 
Ihe Bridge 

Court Square Extension and the River Yront 
Approach to North-end Bridge 



The Old Church on Mount Orthodox 

By Agawam's Still Waters 

Looking Up Watershops Pond 

The Picturesque Westfield 

Mount Tom Range, as seen from "The Knowles' 

The Upper l^idges of Mount Holyoke 

A Day in May — Mount Nonotuck 

Mount Holyoke, from Hockanum Ferry 

The Valley, viewed from Mount Tom 

The Northward View from Mount Holyoke 

The Wooded Bluffs of Rockrimmon 

A View in the Van Horn District 

Calhoun Park 

Lotus at Forest Park 

Glimpses of Watershops Pond 

The Old West Springfield Common 

The Valley South from Country Cluh 

West Springfield Street 

A Glimpse of the Arsenal 

A View of Thompson Triangle 

Longmeadow's Charming Thoroughfare 

On Sumner Avenue 

Benton Park 

The River from Laurel Hill 



FOLLOWINr. PAGE 

Cliflon Johnson 4 

A. D. CopclanJ 4 

Clifton Johnson 6 

Clifton Johnson 6 

Clifton Johnson 8 

Clifton Johnson 8 

Clifton Johnson 8 

Clifton Johnson 8 

Clifton Johnson 8 

Clifton Johnson 8 

E. J. Lazelle 10 

Clifton Johnson 10 

Clifton Johnson 10 

E. J. Lazelle 14 

A. D. Copeland 14 

Clifton Johnson 16 

fV. N. ffinans 16 

Clifton Johnson 16 

Clifton Johnson 18 

F.K.Potter 18. 

E. J. Lazelle 20 
Clifton Johnson 20 

F. K. Potter 20 
E. J. Lazelle 20 



List of Illustrations 



XV 



School Buildings — 

Central High School 

Forest Park School 

Chestnut Street School 

Technical High School E. C. 

Buckingham School 

Carew Street School 

William Street School 

South Main Street School 

International Y. M. C. A. Training School 

American International College 

MacDuffie School 

"The Elms" Geo. 

Art Museum 

Gallery of Paintings 

Bronze Eagle of Shokichi 

Porcelains and Curios 

Arms, Armor and Cloissonne Ware 

Horace Smith Hall of Sculpture 
Looking Across Merrick Park 
St. Gaudens' Statue of the Puritan 
The Holland Homestead 
The McKinley Memorial 
Longmeadow Birches 
Public Library 

Merrick Park, adjacent to the Library 
Science Museum 

State Street, opposite the Library 
Fountain at Court Square 
Fountain on Armory Grounds 
State Street, from Elliott 
Wading Pond at Forest Park 

The Pynchon Memorial {Courtesy 

Mary Pynchon Holyoke Headstone {Courtesy 

Wait Guidestone 
Washington Elm 
Parson Tavern 
The Old Dwight House 
The Old Day House 
Old Blanchard Invention for Turning Gunstocks 



FOLLOWING 


PAGE 


Clifton yohnson 


34 


E. J. Lazelle 


34 


E. J. Lazelle 


38 


y G. C. Gardner 


44 


E. J. Lazelle 


44 


E. J. Lazelle 


44 


H. E. Bosu'orth 


44 


E. J. Lazelle 


44 


Clifton "Johnson 


38 


G. H. Howard 


40 


E. J. Lazelle 


40 


H. Van Norman 


40 


E. J. Lazelle 


50 


H. E. Bosworth 


50 


H. E. Bosworth 


5° 


H. E. BflsxL'orth 


54 


H. E. Bosworth 


54 


H. E. Bosworth 


54 


Clifton Johnson 


50 


E. J. Lazelle 


54 


Clifton Johnson 


60 


D. J. Bordeaux 


60 


E. J. Lazelle 


64 


Clifton Johnson 


66 


H. E. Bosworth 


66 


E. J. Lazelle 


70 


H. E. Bosu-orlh 


70 


Clifton Johnson 


74 


Clifton Johnson 


78 


A. D. Cof eland 


80 


Clifton Johnson 


82 


of W. F. Adams) 


'86 


of IV. F. Adams) 


86 


E. J. Lazelle 


86 


E. J. Lazelle 


86 


E. J. Lazelle 


86 


E. J. Lazelle 


88 


E. J. Lazelle 


88 


A. D. Copeland 


88 



XVI 



List of Illustrations 



FOLLOWING PAGE 



Old First Baptist Church, on Main Street 

Old Wilcox Building 

The Old 'loll Bridge 

A Quiet Retreat 

Court Square in the 'Forties 

" Pecowsic — Next Station Springfield " 

Springfield in the 'Eighties 

Canoeing on the Agawam 

Carew House 

The Old Chapin Stage Coach 

Hampden County Court House 

State Street in the 'Seventies 

City Hall 

Fuller Building Site 

Old Chicopee Bank Building 

Court Square of Today 

Post Office 

Union Passenger Station 

The Railroad Arch 

Springfield from the Arsenal 

Home of the State Militia 

A Commanding View of the River from Pecowsic 

A Scene on the B. & A. R. R. near Tatham 

A Shad Tree at Forest Park 

On Guard at the Armory 

The United States Arsenal 

The United States Watershops 

Thompson Street, from St. James Avenue 

Florida Street, from Ingersoll Grove 

Oxford Apartment House 

The Municipal Building 

Court Square and Soldiers' Monununt 

Memorial Hall 

Looking Down State Street from Buckingham 

Lakes in Forest Park {Courtesy 

Churches — 

First Congregational 

South Congregational 

North Congregational 



E. J. Lazelle 

E. J. LazcUc 

A. D. Copetand 

E. J. Liizelle 



E. J. Lazelle 
E J Lazelle 
E. J. Lazelle 
E. J. Lazelle 
E. J. Lazelle 
E. J. Lazelle 
E. J. Lazelle 
E. Bosworib 
E. J. Lazelle 
E. J. Lazelle 
C. E. Perkins 



H 



E. J. Lazelle 
E. J. Lazelle 

A. D. CopelanJ 

E. J. Lazelle 

Clifton Johnson 

E. J. Lazelle 

Cliflon Johnson 

Clifton Johnson 

Clifton Johnson 

E. J. Lazelle 

E. J. Lazelle 

A. D. CopelanJ 

E. J. Lazelle 

E. J. Lazelle 

E. J. Lazelle 

A. D. CopelanJ 

of D. J. Marsh) 



92. 

92 

92 

92 

92 

96 

96 

96 

96 

96 

100. 

100 

100 

104 

104 

104 

106 

106 

106 

106 

no , 

no 

110 

1 10 

112 

112 

116' 

116 

116 

n6 

116 

120 , 

120 

122 

122 



Clifton Johnson 126 
H. E. Bosworth 126 
A. D. CopelanJ 1 26 



List of Illustrations 



XVII 



Churches (continued) 


FOLLOWING PAGE 


Hope Congregational 


A. D- Copeland 


26 


Church of the Unity 


Clifton Johnson 1 


3° 


Trinity Methodist 


H. E. Bostuorth 1 


30 


Wesley Methodist Geo 


H. Van Norman 1 


30 


St. James' Methodist 


Clifton "Johnson 


32 


First Baptist 


A. D. Copeland 


30 


Highland Baptist 


E. J. Lazelle 


30 


Park Memorial Baptist 


Clifton "Johnson 


32 


Memorial (Union Evangelical) 


A. D. Copelnnd 


34 


Christ Church (Episcopal) 


A. D. Copeland 


32 


St. Michael's Cathedral 


A. D. Copeland 


42 


Sacred Heart 


Clifton Johnson 


42 


Springfield Hospital 




34 


Cynthia Wesson Hospital 


G. Wood Taylor 


34 


Springfield Home for Aged Women 


H. E. Bosworth 


34 


Y. M. C. A. Building 


A. D. Copeland 


38 


Railroad Y. M. C. A. Building 


A. D. Copeland 


38 


Y. M. C. A. Electrical Class 


A. D. Copeland 


'38 


Mercy Hospital 




46 


Views in Springfield Cemetery 


F. R. Sistare 


46 


In Oak Grove Cemetery 


A. D. Copeland 


46 


View in St. Michael's Cemetery 


H. Knox 


46 


Maple Street Entrance to Springfield Cemetery 


E. J. Lazelle 


50 


Entering Forest Park 


Clifton Johnson 


5° 


Baseball at Forest Park 


Clifton Johnson 


50 


The Winding Pecovvsic 


E. J. Lazelle 


50 


Residences — 






Alexander House 


Clifton Johnson 


54 


Ames House 


Clifton Johnson 


54 


Joseph H. Wesson 


E. J. Lazelle 


54 


The Smith Residence 


Clifton Johnson 


54 


James T. Abbe 


Clifton Johnson 


56 


E. C. Gardner's Home at Rockrimmon 


E. J. Lazelle 


56 


The Goodhue Residence 


F. K. Potter 


56 


A. B. Wallace 


F. K. Potter 


56 


Beebe Residence 


Clifton Johnson 1 


56 


John A. Hall 


Clifton Johnson 


58 


E. H. Barney 


D. J. Bordeaux 


58 


Nathan D. Bill 


Clifton Johnson 


58 



xvin List of Illustrations 



FOLLOWING PAGE 

62 



D. B. Wesson E. J. Lazelle 

Dartmouth Terrace, from IngersoU Grove E. y. Lazelle 

Street View in I'orest Park District Clifton Johnson 

View of Dartmouth Street F. K. Potter 

Forest Park Lily Ponds D. J. Bordeaux 

Looking Up St. James Avenue E. J. Lazelle 

Maple Street, from High E. J. Lazelle 

Home of the Springfield Country Club fF. N. Winans 

Connecticut Valley from Country Club W. N. Jfinans 

Homes of Some of the Boat Clubs Clifton "Johnson 

View of the River, looking South Clifton Johnson 

Sport on the Connecticut A. D. Copeland 

Main Street, looking South from Post Office A. D. Copeland 

Headquarters Street Railway H. E. Bosworth 

Main Street, looking North from Hillman Clifton Johnson 

New Home of the Springfield Fire and Marine A. D. Copeland 
Other Views of the Fire and Marine H. E. Bosworth 182 

Home of the Springfield Board of Trade A. D. Copeland 

Main Street, looking North from State Clifton Johnson 

Forest Park Sheep D. J. Bordeaux 

Drives and Promenades at Forest Park D. J. Bordeaux 
Works of the Wason Manufacturing Company 

The Barney Mausoleum on Laurel Hill E. J. Lazelle 

Looking Across the Lily Ponds at Forest Park A. D. Copeland 

Carr Building, Harrison Avenue A. D. Copeland 

Basse Place, looking toward Main Street E. J. Lazelle 

Looking Down Harrison Avenue H . E. Bosu'orth 

Masonic Building A. D. Copeland 

"All Roads Lead to Springfield" A. D. Copeland 200 

Office Interior, Cooley Hotel C. E. Perkins 200 

Republican Building A. D. Copeland 200 

The Arch from Hampden Street Clifton Johnson 208 

Birdseye View of Railway Station E. J. Lazelle 208 

State Street, opposite Armory Clifton Johnson 210 

High School Boys on the River A. D. Copeland 210 

The Bridge at Indian Leap A. D. Copeland 210 

The Sunset Gun at the Armory Clifton Johnson 214 



54 
56 
58 
58 
62 
62 
62 
66 
66 
66 
66 
76 
76 



84 
82, 



92 
92 
94 
94 
98 
98 




<^i^^. 






ITHLVISIDLLOIARM 
AS IT W^ 15 AND 71(\T DE 







LOOKING 
I . nature' 



BACKWARD 



LEGACY 




OME cities are born beautiful, like Naples, some achieve 
beauty, like Washington, and some have beauty thrust 
upon them, like St. Petersburg, vv^hich vs'ould have been 
a great dismal swamp today but for the stubborn will 
of the first great autocrat of Russia. 
If Springfield is not already one of the most beautiful cities in 
America, it is not for lack of noble birth, for it was beautifully 
born. Conceived in sunshine and brought forth in verdure, the 
little old house on the west side of the river, which two and a half 
centuries ago was the germ of the present city, a helpless, solitary 
infant, resting on the bare but nourishing bosom of mother Earth 
and rocked in the cradle of the fertile valley, was even then sur- 
rounded by rare and wonderful charms. 

Sweeping and swinging between bluffs and forests, the clear 
water of the river mirrored brilliant pictures of the clouds above, of 
the graceful elms along its banks, and likewise of Indians, squaws 
and little, papooses who had never heard of "civic centers of 
municipal art " nor of scientific public sanitation, but by unerring 
instinct, selected for their mundane hunting grounds the spots 
where the grass was the greenest, the water the purest, the trees the 
most stately and sturdy. Then as now there were mountains round 
about, which gave a sense of permanency and solemn grandeur with- 
out which it is almost impossible to be deeply conscious of a well- 
established local habitation. We need these lofty barriers, not to 

I 



Springfield Present and Prospective 



mark the visual line that girts us round as the world's extreme and 
shut us in from the outer universe like Rasselas in his Happy Val- 
ley, but as our dwellings must have solid walls and sheltering roofs 
to localize and intensify the love of home. Domestic life even in 
frozen, barren Scandinavia is far superior to that of the fleeting 
Arabs on their level plains. 

Here the sun sends down his morning salutation from over the 
Wilbraham hills and we lift our eyes for his evening benediction to 
the Green mountain peaks that have tumbled out of Vermont across 
Berkshire and western Hampden ; while at the north, craggy, 
crumbling Mount Tom, gray and hoary, but capped by giddy 
games and crowned with a gilded coronet, like a too complaisant 
Cyclops, still lies between us and the wintry winds that rend his 
northern side but lose their sharpest sting before descending the 
southern slope. 

Whether we climb to the top of the four-square arsenal tower, 
grim type and reminder of the " power that fills the world with ter- 
ror," or seek the lofty but narrow point of view that for nearly a 
century has crowned Mount Orthodox across the river, steadfast, 
heaven-pointing emblem of the divine gospel of peace, our first emo- 
tion is of surprise; our first impression that a veritable miracle has 
been wrought and, not all the kingdoms of the earth, indeed, 
but a measureless map of marvelous beauty has been suddenl)' un- 
rolled at our feet. Seen from the streets of our city, from the bluffs 
on either side or from the cars that bind us to the rest of the world, 
neither the arsenal tower nor the spire of the West Springfield 
church appears to rise conspicuously above the surrounding land- 
scape, but standing on or near their summits we seem to be lifted 
above the earth into the regions of the upper air. 

After the first surprise at the extent and beauty of the view, the 
next thought is of wonder and self-reproach, that all our lives, per- 
haps, we, dullards that we are, have been living and moving in the 
midst of this delightful environment, oblivious or indifferent to the 
rarest charms of Nature, the richest combination of river and sky, 
bluffs and meadows, forests and mountains, too grand and gracious 
to be permanently defaced even by our clumsiest mistakes. Be- 
yond question it was a goodly heritage, and Springfield must be 
counted among the cities that were born beautiful. 




The Old Church on Mount Orthodox 



Springfield Present and Prospective 



But these unadorned natural charms like those of infancy and 
childhood were doomed to suffer changes. The experimental and 
erratic methods of civilization soon compelled our eager ancestors to 
assail this perfect picture of Nature's faultless fashioning, and into 
the midst of her irreproachable work, where use and beauty are 
never at variance, to introduce their own bald utilities with little 
thought beyond the stern necessities of each day and generation. 
There must be graded roads in place of the blazed and winding 
trails; bridges above the treacherous fords. Simple cottages and 
stately mansions with gardens and cultivated fields established them- 
selves where wigwams and huts had hidden in the forest glades. 
The silent canoe disappeared before the screech of the locomotive, 
the flashing trolley and the puffing steamer. There must be room 
for public squares and parks; monuments and statues for our heroes, 
jails and gallows yards for our criminals. The thick, black breath 
of tall chimneys darkens the sky which the thin smoke of the abo- 
riginal domestic altars never reached. Huge factories and business 
blocks make narrow canons of the old forest aisles. There are 
churches and saloons, police courts and labor unions, trusts and tele- 
phones, armories and schools. All of these with innumerable addi- 
tions and variations determine and display the external life, the outside 
picture of the City of Springfield. And each and every one of these 
features, large and small, forms a thread, dark or light, a band of 
color, a conspicious and beautiful decoration, or an uncouth disfig- 
urement in the web we have woven and shall keep on weaving as 
successive generations rise and fall, while the city which never grows 
old, but, humanly speaking, lives forever, becomes larger and more 
beautiful every year. 

2. FROM CENTER TO CIRCUMFERENCE 

Doubtless the most conspicuous element of natural beauty in 
Springfield is the river; while the most essential and permanent 
characteristic of the city's material development is the manner 
in which its growth has been adapted to the almost faultless site. 
Unlike St. Petersburg, many a western town and some nearer home, 
it has not been necessary to remove mountains of rock or sand, either 
by faith or dynamite; to fill up marshes and bogs that Nature evi- 
dently intended for saurians and other croakers; nor to build dykes 




FIRST CHURCH, ON COURT SQUARE 

The Civic Center of Gravity 



Springfield Present and Prospective 



to keep out the aggressive ocean, — -not to any great extent. Almost 
from the first, the streets and thoroughfares, whether for residence 
or business, have foliovi'ed the hnes of the least resistance. Not the 
traditional meandering cattle paths of Boston, but the slightly and 
gracefully devious ways which an ardent lover or a guest sure of his 
welcome would naturally follow to reach the end of his journey, in 
the good old days when safe and swift arrival was not the only 
charm of travel. 

The intersection of two main lines of travel, virtually at right 
angles, gave from the first an advantage not only in convenience of 
traffic and travel, but in the way of aesthetic possibilities which could 
hardly have existed under other conditions. One of these lines loose- 
ly paralleled the river, as in so many old New England towns and 
villages, and constituted in its earlier years the main axis and sub- 
stance of the settlement, with farms and holdings on the west side, 
running back to the river which formed their rear boundary. The 
other thoroughfare gradually evolved from the eastward trail, en- 
countered Main street near State and crossed it in a somewhat irreg- 
ular fashion, proceeding over the river and the old West Springfield 
common. Eastward and westward these lines of travel stretched 
out across the country over bluffs and plains into the narrow, 
crooked valleys through which the smaller tributaries find their way 
to the large river. It hardly need be said that in this discussion 
of Springfield, both sides of the river are included and whatever we 
choose to claim toward the north and south. 

A city by the sea unless it encircles the head of a bay is one-sided, 
and the same is true of those that are confined to either side of a 
large river, or barricaded at the back by inaccessible mountains. 
Like men of genius such cities command the greatest admiration 
for their one preeminent merit — for instance, nothing can be finer 
than the magnificent setting of Holyoke against the southern side 
of Mount Tom, — but they lack the broader and far more enduring 
charms of all-round excellence. This latter quality Springfield 
possesses in a marked and literal degree. Whether we take the 
wings of the morning and fly to Indian Orchard, Chicopee Falls and 
Ludlow, or dwell in the uttermost parts of Tatham, we can walk be- 
side still waters and lie down in green pastures, as well as in fertile 
meadows and cornfields. Everywhere there are pleasant walks, and 



Springfield Present and Prospective 



the state roads are good for man, beast and automobile. If all 
our suburban highways and so-called roads were perfect, there 
would be nothing for future generations to accomplish, or give to 
the present generation that wholesome dissatisfaction which is the 
necessary precursor and incentive to improvement. 




Diagram showing the First church as the center and the m.iin arteries of Springfield life as 
they have developed around it. 

It seems to have followed naturally from the conditions of the 
birth and subsequent growth of the city, that the obvious civic center 
has scarcely changed its geographical location. The centrifugal 
forces have been almost equally strong in every direction. Ward 
One, Forest park, the Hill, and West Springfield — north, south, 
east and west — who shall say which is the most delightful suburb ? 

As in old New England towns, almost without exception, the 
first church erected was the point from which all things emanated, 
toward which all things tended, and around which everything 




Looking L p fi'iitershops Pond 




-« 

b- 



Springfield Present and Prospective 



revolved. It not only dominated the green turf in front, and the 
sometimes dreary burial ground behind, or at one side, but it set the 
pace for all other local affairs, social, political and educational as 
well as religious. It has not always happened, however, as here, that 
this ethical and business center has remained the visible aesthetic 
center. And although but a comparatively small part of our best 
architectural growth has been adjacent to Court square, and other 
churches have shared the burdens and responsibilities of directing 
our temporal as well as spiritual concerns, the characteristic, though 
by no means ornate, or altogether graceful, spire of the First 
church remains, as regards locality, the civic center of gravity. A 
skeleton map of the situation as it is today is fairly represented by 
the foregoing sketch. 

It is obvious at a single glance how much greater are the oppor- 
tunities for a beautiful city with such a ground plan than if it were 
helplessly constrained to the lines and squares of a chess board. By 
filling the spaces between these variously curved diverging streets 
with small parallelograms a very complete map of the city would be 
produced, and it is easy to see that if all the main thoroughfares were 
straight and intersected each other at right angles, the chief charm 
of the plan would be lost. The natural point for minor public 
squares and open spaces is at the junction of these larger avenues, 
and many such already exist, so that from whatever quarter or direc- 
tion we approach the center of the city, we encounter these orna- 
mental oases. 

The general picturesqueness is still farther enhanced by the un- 
even surface of the site which, of course, does not appear on the map. 
There are constant surprises in the way of charming vistas, either 
looking down across the valley or up toward the woody heights of 
the bluffs, that are not found in cities where all things are doomed 
to remain on a dead level. It is no wonder that the ancient Egyp- 
tians found their greatest enjoyment in building pyramids, and the 
Babylonians hung their gardens high in the air. We all like some- 
thing to look up to and to look down upon. 

Whether the attractiveness of the city's plan is thought to be due 
to happy chance, to the foresight of those who accidentally, or 
otherwise, determined the course of the principal highways of travel 
and trade, or to that overruling Providence which compels men to 



8 S pringfield Present and Prospective 

build better than they know, it is evident that the result is most 
excellent. So excellent, in fact, that we may seriously question 
whether the larger matters of business traffic and actual convenience, 
as well as of ultimate landscape architectural effect, could have been 
more wisely arranged if the genius of L'Enfant himself, instead of 
the domestic, commercial and social needs of our ancestors, had 
determined the first outline sketch of the city and its environment. 
By this irregular plan, small parks and open spaces are easily estab- 
lished without large outlay or sacrifice of public convenience. Trees, 
turf and flowers give an almost rural appearance even close to the 
very center, and render possible that dignified and sympathetic 
union of landscape and structural architecture which constitutes the 
most refined and exalted expression of civic esthetics. Beauty in 
buildings alone is cold and costly; landscape without architectural 
embellishment belongs to rural life. The wise combination of the 
two — the color and grace of tree and shrub, of leaf and flower, the 
music of falling water and the silver light on river and fountain, all 
allied and inseparably blended with the artificial structures that 
minister to the needs of men and accompany human activities — is 
and always has been the constant aim and, when achieved, the 
crowning glory of the noblest civic art. 

II. PLAN OF THE GROUND FLOOR 

I. THE INNER CIRCLE 

THUS far the heritage and natural endowment of Springfield and 
the general conditions of its earlier and unstudied growth have 
been briefly sketched. A more detailed study of what has been done 
that is of lasting value and worthy to remain as an essential part of 
the great and beautiful city that is to be, is also interesting and 
impressive. A fairly comprehensive showing in the way of park 
and boulevard achievement is given in the accompanying maps of 
the parks, large and small, that already exist, with the streets, 
actual and possible, that join them. 

Starting from Court square (in one of the perfected electric 
automobiles that make no noise, never kill people or frighten 
horses, and leave no unpleasant reminder of their progress, but are not 
yet on the market because the demand is so much greater than the 



^itik^- 





^The Mount Tom Range, as seen from ^''The Knowles'"' m South Hadley 
^The Upper Ridges of Mount Holyoke 



■ ■ 




\ ' 1 mI^^^^R 


■fc-.^- w _^ 


Ji 


W" '\ 1^^^|[ 



ti. 




H> 



:? 



'^ 




PN 

c 
h. 








'The Norlhern Vitlley, vieuted from Mount Tom -The Northward View from Mount Holvoke 



Springfield Present and Prospective 



supply), it is necessary, in the absence of the river-bank improve- 
ment, to proceed northward through what is now the most important 
business portion of Main street, as far as Bridge, where we may turn 
to the right for a moment in order to get a glimpse of St. Gaudens' 
tortoises, beside the globe instead of under the elephants that held 
it in place until Columbus discovered America. Nothing could be 
finer than the spirit of this sometimes unappreciated public square. 
Maintaining itself in the business heart of the city merely as an open 
breathing space, it is something to be devoutly thankful for. It also 
affords the most obvious opportunity, even superior to Court square, 
for the harmonious combination of beauty and business; an oppor- 
tunity that can not long remain unimproved. 

Back upon Main street, and going northward, we soon arrive at 
the arch, a utilitarian work of great dignity and beauty, the latter 
not always recognized because of its simplicity. If it were in an 
old city of France or Italy, Baedeker would give it double stars and 
American tourists would love to talk of it to their friends at home. 
A few blocks beyond the arch we find the southern entrance to 
Hampden park by way of Clinton street. When we reflect that 
more than one-third of the population of Springfield, not to mention 
Chicopee and the greater part of West Springfield, lives north of the 
Boston and Albany railroad, the exceeding value of Hampden park 
as a public playground is apparent. In its way no greater calamity 
to the entire city could happen than for the whole of this tract of 
land to be given up to railroad or other business purposes. Compar- 
ing its actual with its ideal condition, it is still in what may be called 
a chrysalid state. Everything in and about it is crude, coarse and 
rough, but its form and location are such that there is hardly a limit 
to its capacity for furnishing rest and recreation for the thousands 
of people who already live within easy walking distance of it, and 
the tens of thousands who find it easily accessible. Tracks for 
races, rings for circuses, grounds for baseball and tennis, room for 
Fourth of July celebrations, Sundaj'-school picnics, wheel tourna- 
ments, river-bank promenades, lovers' walks and fireworks; canoe 
wharfs, yacht landings and bath-houses — for all these and more there 
is room on Hampden park; and the importance to the city of this 
plot of ground, or a considerable portion of it, for these and kindred 
purposes, increases every year more rapidly than the city's growth. 



10 Springfield Present and Prospective 

Directly at the north of the park and on the bank of the river is 
a triangular piece of land, happily belonging to the city, of which 
much may be expected in the future. At present it is not even in 
the chrysalid state, but wholly chaotic — just a bare dumping-ground. 
Even this is by no means unsatisfactory. The conversion of a 
worthless piece of land, by gradual means and without cost to the 
city, into a beauty spot is far more to be commended than the 
strenuous creation of a gorgeous garden by extravagant and hurried 
methods. 

Here, looking westward, we see the sweet fields of West Spring- 
field beyond the swelling floods that roll under the North-end bridge. 
But that is a side line, and in following the inner line of the chain, 
of which but few links are missing, we must turn eastward by Wason 
avenue where, after crossing Main street, we face the wooded bluffs 
of Rockrimmon. This large tract belonging to the Atwater estate 
has been virtually an open natural park for nearly half a century. 
It is wholly unadorned, some portions of it primeval, in fact, and 
thereby all the more delightful. There is no other spot within 
many miles of the city where, to judge from the natural conditions, 
the wild fox would be more likely to dig his hole unseated, where the 
deep forest song birds find themselves so much at home and where, 
not the real copper-colored flesh-and-blood aboiigines, but their 
pathetic ghosts, would be more likely to revisit the glimpses of the 
moon. 

This entire tract, keeping close to the Chicopee line, is full of 
picturesque revelations in the immediate surroundings and in the 
frequent views across and up and down the valley where the broad 
river gleams and glistens. When the roads passing through this 
tract are definitely located and perfected, as they are sure to be in 
the future, there will be no more charming suburban drive than 
through this part of the encircling boulevard. 

After leaving the constantly varying bluffs and deep ravines of 
the Rockrimmon region and turning toward the south, we pass 
through and across the source of the city's first great public water- 
works — great at the time they were undertaken, — the Van Horn 
reservoir, as safely as Moses and his tribe passed through the Red 
Sea, and in far less time, unless we stop to admire the western view 
across the water or to walk around the borders of the upper portions. 




fti 



CQ 








'-i i'iew in the fan Horn Diitrici 'Calhoun Park 



Springfield Present and Prospective I r 

This is, in truth, one of the rare products which seem to have been 
fore-ordained for other purposes than those which ostensibly called 
them into existence. Primarily constructed as ponds to hold water 
to keep the people of the city from dying of thirst — than which no 
purpose could commend itself more highly to the most prosaic and 
utilitarian citizen, — if the sole object had been to find a spot for a 
charming park of grass and trees and shimmering water, this could 
not have been surpassed. What the contour of the original ponds 
may have been I do not know, but as soon as the water was called 
upon to fulfill a high and holy mission — giving drink to those who 
were athirst — it immediately assumed all the airs and graces of a 
miniature Lake Winnepesaukee. Even the islands are not wanting, 
and a road winding around its bank — a thoroughly good road, such 
as are only found in really civilized countries — would be a thing of 
beauty and a joy forever. But this road, like the next war, is not 
yet "fit." The drive along Armory street passes at the corner of 
Carew and Armory a five-acre park with its brook, trees and deep 
dingle, which has been wisely acquired by the park commission for 
the future use of the city. Half a mile farther we traverse the via- 
duct across the railroad and approach the ancient and beautiful 
thoroughfare of State street. 

Fifty years ago Springfield people were fond of telling their friends 
of the enthusiastic praise bestowed by Thackeray on the view from 
the arsenal tower and this portion of the Connecticut valley. The 
view is the same; the arsenal grounds are undoubtedly more beauti- 
ful and impressive now than then, and if another distinguished 
foreign prophet, whom we should delight to honor, could be enticed 
to the top of the tower, he would surely revive our forgotten local 
pride. These broad and well-cared-for grounds belonging to the 
Federal government have always been a potent factor in establish- 
ing the claims of Springfield to a special external attractiveness. 
As the years go by, the worth of this national park will relatively 
increase, and more and more will State street become famous among 
the beautiful avenues of large cities. 

Proceeding still farther southward, we reach the Watershops 
pond, another link in the circumscribing boulevard, although its 
complete exploration involves a wide diversion from the direct line 
to Forest park. 




PARKS AND BOULEVARDS — AS THEY ARE 




GCG- 

ncn 



THE COMPLETED CHAIN 



14 Springfield Present and Prospective 

The residential portions of the Forest park region and the park 
itself remind us of the traditional ocean views, where sea and sky 
blend so imperceptibly that we can scarcely tell where the one begins 
and the other ends. There is a similar illusion here. The greater 
portion of this entire suburb has a park-like appearance in its private 
grounds, and we constantly find parklets and "terraces" at the 
junctions and in the center of the wider avenues. The park itself, 
extending more than a mile from east to west, is every year adding 
to Nature's legacy of beauty, and from the real bear's den at one 
end to the counterfeit presentment of McKinley at the other, music 
itself is not more redundant of charms for all moods and fancies. 

Doubtless the home run from Forest park to Court square 
ought to be along the river bank; but the railroad at present has the 
right of way and we must take the inside track until the South-end 
boulevard, so well begun, is completed. 

This general scheme, as shown by the first of these two maps, 
or something closely resembling it, is almost an accomplished fact. 
It has been the dream of the men who have done the most for local 
improvement, and can only fail of complete fulfillment through a 
fatal attack of sinister politics on the part of the city officials, or 
of grievous parsimony and Philistinism on the part of the citizens. 
It involves no large or sudden outlay, only the gradual working 
toward a definite goal, and each succeeding step in the progress, if 
wisely taken, would unquestionably pay for itself from the purely 
financial point of view in the enhanced value of the real estate along 
the route. 

2. BROADER OUTLOOKS 

To PASS around the circle once more, not in the electric chariot 
that clings to earth, but in one of the dirigible air ships that exist 
chiefly in the eye of faith, we shall see that the route just described 
is not merely a succession of arboreal and flowering parks diversified 
by water views and distant landscape, but an inter-urban highway 
much of the way, in fact a greater part of it, passing among the 
thickly planted and abundantly occupied homes which have given 
to the city its sentimental name; homes where the signs of good taste 
and good cheer are in constant evidence and which would be a pleas- 
ure to heart and eye even if there were not countless small parks 




Lotus at Forest Park 





Glimpses of H'atershops Pond 



Springfield Present and Prospective 15 

and terraces wherever converging streets come together and where 
sufficient width has been taken to form parks or terraces through 
the center. 

On this elevated excursion we can see and trace what may be 
called the side lines of the grand tour. 

While waiting for the new bridge that will supplant the century- 
old wooden structure, the North-end bridge furnishes the first point 
of departure from the main line. When this was built it was 
thought to be a work of great extravagance, wholly exceeding all 
possible requirements and declared to be of sufficient size and 
strength to sustain the entire population of Hampden county — which 
was probably true. Indeed, it may have done so many times over, 
though not all at once, for it is a great thoroughfare, constituting our 
principal highway, not only to our beloved maiden sister across the 
river, but to our more distant friends and family relatives, Westfield, 
Tatham and Holyoke. 

The nearest west-side charms, after crossing the bridge, are the 

old West Springfield street with its over-arching elms and verdant 

turf, dewy and damp even at mid-day, Shad Lane, the old common, 

several rods wider than Court square and originally extending from 

the Connecticut river on the east to the wharfs at Agawam on the 

west, and nobody can remember how much farther. The wharfs have 

disappeared, the length of the common has been curtailed, but its 

width remains. The "Shad Laner's Meetin' road" is also the oldest 

and perhaps the most beautiful river-bank drive in Hampden county, 

besides being the fit approach to the commanding site of the home of 

the Country club. 

Leaving the main route again at Glenwood where the Rock- 
et o 

rimmon tract joins the Armory road, Springfield street beguiles us 
through the pleasant scenery of upper Chicopee, which would be 
literally under the shadow of Mount Tom if the sun should happen 
to rise in the north, and thence, if we choose, swerving around to the 
right across to Chicopee Falls and the romantic country beyond. 

Still swinging eastward we find the Watershops pond, whose 
picturesque northern shore is already accessible and which in the 
future will move slowly into the midst of the metropolitan district. 
Sometime there may be viaducts across the upper part of this lake, 
but in this imaginary flight it is easy to cross without bridges, looking 



1 6 Springfield Present and Prospective 

down upon Forest park and sailing over the lily ponds whose 
incomparable beauty and gracious perfume haunt us until we reach 
the classic shades and bucolic charms of Longmeadow. 

Whether we depend upon the time-honored but now obsolescent 
modes of conveyance that require the combined service of horses 
and wagons, saddles and bridles, oats, stables and hostlers, or move 
swiftly and simply by means of scientific, up-to-date locomotive 
mechanism, the inter-urban boulevard in its actual condition, as 
shown by the first map or in the completed form of the second, will 
be a journey of at least a dozen miles and all quite within the thickly 
populated limits of the city. Extending the trip through the various 
side lines would of course add to its extent indefinitely. 

What has been said of the residential portions of the Forest 
park region is generally true of other parts of the city. Across 
the river, at the "north end," in Brightwood, in the other parts of 
Ward One and throughout what is commonly known as the "Hill 
region," carefully- kept lawns, ornamental shrubbery, and small 
decorative parks are frequently encountered, some of them, notably 
Calhoun and Merrick, already possessing marked and varied beauty. 

To refer very briefly to what is perhaps the most important 
feature of a city, the one that indicates with most emphasis the 
degree of intelligence and public spirit prevailing, it may be said 
that the construction and final finish of our streets will probably con- 
tinue to be, as it always has been, a matter for controversy and 
experiment. Considering the relatively large area of Springfield and 
the rapid extension of the suburbs in all directions impartially, our 
streets and sidewalks are usually well graded and paved, though by 
no means faultless. We are, moreover, in the most hopeful and 
fortunate condition possible for ignorant and erring mortals; we 
are aware of our sins, suitably ashamed of them, and honestly trying 
to outgrow them. Many of the streets are models of excellence, 
and the public demand for clean, well-paved thoroughfares ensures 
a constant improvement in this respect, for whatever value we may 
attach to the ornamental features of a house, a home or a friend, we 
know that "Thou shalt not be unclean" is one of the fundamental 
commandments. 

Washington has been called the "Parlor City" because of its 
chronic state of preparation for ornamental social functions. Other 





TAe Old Wen Springfeld Common -The Valley South from Country Club 




CO 






Springfield Present and Prospective 17 

cities, whose names may be guessed from their supposed tastes, 
might be considered dining-room cities; certain others, in the opinion 
of their neighbors, ought to be laundries; in the great national dom- 
icile, "Library cities" are happily numerous. For Springfield, 
which is and always has been industrious, democratic and cosmo- 
politan, no better designation, derived from domestic associations, 
can be given than "The Living Room" — the apartment which in 
the steady evolution of homes combines in itself the essential and 
happiest qualities of the more highly specialized and exclusive 
apartments. Bright, cheerful and sunny, free to all well-behaved 
comers, unhampered by troublesome conventionalities, with room 
and opportunity for industry, study, recreation and social enjoyment 
— what the generous living-room with its hospitable hearth and 
ready welcome is to the private dwelling, Springfield is in the larger 
home of the grand old Commonwealth. 

III. ARCHITECTURAL GARMENTS 

I. THE PERSONAL EQUATION IN HOUSES 

GIVEN a well-born child, properly nourished, wisely trained, still 
more wisely untrained, and the odds are a great many to one 
that the resulting boy — or girl, as the case may be — will be strong, 
cheerful and intelligent, of good temper, wholesome tastes, fair to 
look upon, and eager to increase in size and influence. It is the same 
way with a city. In its earlier years it asks only for healthy nourish- 
ment and plenty of standing room. Quantity is desired rather than 
quality; strength ranks above skill, might above right, and license 
seems more admirable than law. To both child and city there comes 
a time when the childish order is reversed. Conventions, rules and 
regulations, implements of work and warfare, personal appearances, 
comforts and other assets enter into the problem of existence. What 
clothes are to a well-made man or woman, architecture, as mani- 
fested in building, is to a city; something essential to its comfort, 
largely indicative of its wealth and intelligence. 

In a rough classification of the architecture with which we are 
all familiar, there may be counted domestic, commercial, municipal 
or public and semi-public, ecclesiastical, monumental and, perhaps, 
industrial, as among the conspicuous and easily distinguished varie- 



l8 Springfield Present and Prospective 

ties. They are more or less interlocking, but such a general grouping 
simplifies their discussion. 

Real orthodox architecture in house building is rare. Most of 
the houses intended as homes for those who build them are far 
more likely each one to express the varying tastes and needs of the 
owner and his wife — especially of his wife, although he may not be 
aware of that fact or willing to acknowledge it — than to illustrate 
any recognized, or unrecognized, principles of the noblest of all arts. 
This is by no means a deplorable circumstance. What if the peculiar 
shapes that are chosen for the outside clothmg of our homes are as 
varied and inconsequent as the amazing shapes of feminine head- 
gear, provided each one shelters a well-ordered domestic unit ? 
What if they sometimes lack that sober dignity and fail to give that 
assurance of self-poise which ought to characterize a family whose 
days are expected to be long in the land ? They distinctly declare 
that there are multitudes of good and prosperous citizens who have 
the courage of their convictions and are willing to assert themselves 
by conspicuous and often expensive declarations of independence. 

One especially fortunate condition that has saved us from much 
architectural barrenness in this class is the diversity and generally 
high character of our industrial and business activities; because owing 
to these we are free from great aggregations of factory boarding- 
houses and the monotonously bare "homes of operatives," so called, 
that are inevitable in towns and cities where large numbers of com- 
paratively unskilled and often migratory laborers are employed in 
the manufacture of the great staples. Neither do huge blocks of 
expressionless tenements of the same pattern, and the Babel of 
towering, undomestic apartment houses overmuch abound in the 
"City of Homes," — thanks to the salubrious and easily-accessible 
suburbs. These are some of the more obvious causes that have led 
to the heterogeneous character of our domestic architecture. 

I was about to say that the real lessons of the homes of Spring- 
field- can only be discovered by reading between the lines. Unfor- 
tunately there is little room for reading lessons or anything else 
between the houses — an almost universal misfortune in suburban 
districts everywhere. It is one of the incomprehensible and, appar- 
ently, incurable human follies that, notwithstanding enormous ad- 
vantages in the way of obtaining greater space for their domiciles, 








A Glimpse of the Arsenal 




^ 



s 









iiv 



Springfield Present and Prospective ig 

men are still willing to submit to the privations and inconvenience 
of small lots and of uncomfortable proximity to neighbors (even 
good neighbors may be too near our dining-room windows) merely 
for the sake of saving a few minutes' time in the journey between 
home and business. This strange perversity can not be the result 
of deliberate choice, but evidently belongs to the conservatism that 
ignores the achievements of modern science, the inexpressibly won- 
derful inventions of the last half-century, and clings to hereditary 
customs as monkeys cling to their tails and sheep follow their bell- 
wether over a precipice. Forty acres and a mule may not be a 
practicable allowance in this part of the Connecticut valley, but 
viewed from the standpoint of common sense, and in the light of 
this electric age, it is a perilous lapse toward barbarism and, 
contrariwise, a lamentable encouragement of race suicide, for a man 
to undertake to found a family and bring up his wife and children 
in the way they should go, on a bit of land scarcely large enough for 
a cemetery lot. 

But we can hardly help outgrowing these minor faults. In every 
direction we have attractive open country within a twenty-minute's 
circuit, and are not forced to imitate the less favored cities where 
those whose business is in one half of the city must cross the other 
half in order to reach their outside homes. There is improvement, 
too, in what we are pleased to call our domestic architecture; less 
of the far-fetched and fanciful on one hand, less affectation of 
humility and rusticity on the other, and more of self-respecting dig- 
nity. When we find that fire-proof building costs no more than droll 
freaks and ostentatious shams in wood, we shall take another step 
in the direction of worthy domestic architecture. 

2. COMMERCIAL AND MUNICIPAL 

Perhaps there is no better illustration of the evolution of business 
architecture in the older parts of this country than in the main com- 
mercial avenue of an old New England city like Springfield. Be- 
ginning with a corner grocery, detached stores and shops gradually 
extended along either side of the street, with a sprinkling of dwelling- 
houses, the latter being sooner or later given over to business and 
the vacant lots filled in until the principal street presented a contin- 
uous wall of buildings, each with its own proprietor and line of 



20 Springfield Present an J Prospective 

business. Before the days of elevators, buildings were commonly 
two or three, rarely four, stories in height, and after fire ordinances 
prohibited the use of wood for external walls, red brick, with a mild 
peppering of granite or brownstone, were the most available and 
useful materials. These earlier business blocks mio-ht almost be 
classified as factories, so simple were they in design, so strictly 
utilitarian in character. As business prosperity increased there was 
a larger outlay for more expensive material and skillful workmanship 
without essential departure from the simpler forms. These quiet, 
serviceable structures making no claim to architectural display, still 
produce the most pleasing effect. They have something of the 
aristocratic dignity of old families; they are at peace with one 
another; naked and not ashamed. 

Really fine, scholarly examples of commercial architecture are 
so few and far between that they tend to exaggerate by contrast the 
homeliness of the earlier structures, while the fantastic and sometimes 
frantic efforts at ornament and variety, of what may be called the 
transition period, where each building is indifferent, if not openly 
hostile, to its neighbor, only produce architectural confusion and 
discord. Probably merchants and architects will need to be born 
again several times over before either will voluntarily sacrifice con- 
temporary popular applause and a chance for vociferous advertising, 
in order to educate the public taste. 

As might be expected from the conditions of business prosperity 
and freedom from political graft, and from the general culture of the 
citizens, our municipal buildings are usually well adapted to their 
various uses, of good style and quality. Indulgence in monumental 
features for the sake of impressive architecture is rare. The pre- 
vailing and apparently irremovable handicap m all public work is 
the constant change of executive. Sometimes this occurs during the 
progress of important undertakings, men of different tastes, diver- 
gent judgment and, perhaps, opposite ideas as to public economy 
and utility, are called upon to complete work begun by others whose 
tastes and intentions they do not approve. 

Inasmuch as the average sentiment of those to whom the mem- 
bers of a city government feel responsible and look for their official 
support is never in favor of that which is absolutely the best, it 
follows that the highest excellence is rarely attained in municipal 



^*':J^' 









-I 



fti 



Springfield Present and Prospective 21 

work. Sometime we may arrive at the dignity of a permanent board 
of public works that shall also be a competent board of censors. We 
shall also learn that temporizing for the sake of present saving is 
culpable waste, and that thorough, high-class, fire-proof building is 
the only true economy. 

3. CHURCHES, MONUMENTS AND CHIMNEYS 

Local ecclesiastical architecture is easily disposed of. There are 
plenty of cities in the world infested by eager tourists, sung by 
enamored poets, and coveted by military heroes, whose fame rests 
almost solely on the marvelous beauty and impressive grandeur of 
their churches and cathedrals. Even the buildings of state, erected 
by the rulers of great nations with apparent utter recklessness as to 
cost, are less notable on the whole than those which have been in- 
spired by religious sentiment and devoted to its expression. It will 
hardly be considered unkind to say that Springfield is in no imme- 
diate danger of being ravaged by rapacious generals, preserved in 
ponderous poetry, or tormented by tourists, solely on account of the 
magnificence of her churches. Leaving out the venerable and hoary 
First church, which by reason of its halo of historic sentiment and 
hallowed associations can hardly enter the race on its architectural 
merits, there are four or five others that are justly entitled to admi- 
ration for their beauty; although in two or three of these it would 
appear that the lamp of sacrifice flickered and went out before they 
were completed. Aside from these, of the various buildings used 
for religious purposes, none rise above the commonplace. If any 
one of them should be destroyed, it is doubtful if it would be 
rebuilt in its present form solely for the sake of its architectural 
excellence. 

Monumental architecture belongs either to some of the dead and 
gone golden ages, renowned for a precocious development of physi- 
cal courage and intellectual refinement, or else to the tyrannical 
reigns of great autocrats, able to compel the unlimited resources of 
a kingdom, including the unrequited toil of their subjects. We have 
escaped the latter condition and have not yet attained the former. 
In our commercial age, the successful production and accumulation 
of material wealth makes it inevitable that the finer intellectual, 
aesthetic and moral qualities are often submerged under waves of 



22 Springfield Present and Prospective 

financial success and business ambition. We have no time nor 
inclination for "Art for Art's sake"; there must also be money in it. 

In combination with other structures, spires and towers are 
somewhat monumental in purpose, though these were originally 
intended for use, either as campaniles or as observatories when 
enemies were expected, and for hurling hot pitch and Greek fire on 
their heads as soon as they arrived. When to the strength and mag- 
nitude of defensive towers, grace of form and beauty of detail were 
added, they came to be recognized as among the most impressive 
examples of the builder's art, the most effective of decorative features. 
Seen from a distance, the simplest of strictly utilitarian structures, 
be-smoked and be-sooted steam chimneys, greatly improve the 
landscape of a city. If beauty is ever recognized as an essential 
element in all the work of our hands, as it will be when we are suffi- 
ciently civilized — say, for instance, as highly civilized in this direction 
as the Japanese, — so obvious an opportunity for combining the two 
as exists in these great organs of respiration, will not be neglected, 
and every steam chimney, like every urban park and church spire, 
will be beautiful not only to the stockholders and the employes but 
to all good people in sight of it. Of course, long before that time 
the "smoke nuisance" will be not merel)' "abated" but abolished, 
and there wdl be no stain on the escutcheons, or the chimneys, of 
the great corporations. 

From monumental to industrial architecture, by way of the 
chimney tops, is an easy step and highly suggestive of the close 
relation between the useful and the beautiful. If industrial archi- 
tecture is given a shelf by itself, there are few cities that would make 
a more creditable showing than this city of homes and industry. 
The venerable buildings of the United States Armory are models 
of simplicity and agreeable proportions. It is undoubtedly through 
their silent influence that many of the more important factories in 
the city exhibit a thoughtful regard for careful, harmonious design. 

It appears, therefore, that in our modification of Nature's perfect 
legacy by means of architectural garments, we have not gone far 
astray. There is health and hope and vigor in us, and while much 
remains to be done, there is comparatively little that needs to be 
undone. 




1' ILLY HAINES 



Wiiose wise foresight aiul liln-r.il bi'ijuest have U-iit much incentive 
to the work of beautifving SpringfieKI 



Springfield Present and Prospective 23 

IV. LOOKING FORWARD 

I . BED ROCK 

IN THIS age of science and certainty one takes large risks who ven- 
tures any other vaticination than cautious reasoning from cause 
to effect. "Don't never prophesy unless you know" is excellent 
advice, yet every man whose mind is not comatose will sometimes 
yield to temptation and try to describe his air castles, not always 
providing for them visible means of support. 

Already Springfield has a foundation whereon to rear the temple 
of a goodly city whose extent and abiding wealth will be limited 
only by the intelligence, industry and unity of its citizens. Let 
intelligence stand first. He would be a poor student of history and 
human nature who failed to see that the nobler qualities that raise 
one community above another are intimately related to physical 
beauty and the cultivated appreciation of it; who does not know 
that if our material work gives lasting pleasure it is because of its 
being the expression of high intellectual and moral qualities which 
it, in turn, develops and sustains. We can not be too often or too 
forcibly reminded that it is a crime to inflict upon a city any con- 
spicuous work that does not embody the highest skill at our com- 
mand. 

Every man's house is his castle, and in the absence of a king he 
is at liberty to make it as appallingly ugly as he pleases — provided 
he has no zesthetic consciousness, or conscience, — but everything for 
which the city is responsible — and its responsibility should be largely 
extended — ought to be of such a character as to excite the admira- 
tion and respect of the intelligent citizens who help pay for it and of 
succeeding generations who must gaze on it indefinitely, or pay for 
its destruction. Surely this will require intelligence of the highest 
order in our public officials. But the fountain does not rise higher 
than its source, and we can not expect our representatives to hold 
loftier ideals than our own. 

After intelligence there must be industry in its broadest sense; 
that is, enterprise, public spirit, executive ability. Whether hands 
or heads are given the highest place, either without the other is a 
one-armed soldier. We may chase the devil around the stump in 



24 Springfield Present and Prospective 

an endless argument only to reach the same conclusion, which is 
that tireless enterprise and dauntless valor are wasted unless wisdom 
stands at the helm; and, conversely, that the highest intelligence is 
like the wind that bloweth where it listeth until it has taken form in 
doughty deeds. 

What organization is to an army, a pilot to a ship on a rock-bound 
coast, a goal to a race, unity of purpose is in the effort to improve 
a city. This implies a well-considered, generally-approved, compre- 
hensive plan, far-reaching, disinterested as to localities, and at the 
same time elastic and adaptable. Without this, chaos and confusion, 
aesthetically speaking, will persist to the end; Springfield will not 
surpass but fall behind other cities, and really noble results can 
be reached only at long intervals and by costly sacrifice. The one 
great overwhelming idea of the present age, the chief outcome of 
all that has been accomplished in the way of human civilization 
since the world began, is the unity of mankind and its corollary, 
the obligation and necessity for concerted action. This appears in 
all affairs, large and small. In families, in business and educational 
organizations, in municipalities and in nations. We can not afford 
to elevate one corner of the edifice and leave the others to sink in 
the quicksand; no class must be lifted at the expense of another; no 
portion of a city be raised to the summit of lu.xury while the slums 
are still gasping in the depths of filth and unsanitary degradation. 

2. WHAT THE RIVER ASKS AND GIVES 

If an earthquake should suddenly convert Enfield dam into a 
second Mount Tom, reaching from Wilbraham mountains to Bland- 
ford, the river at Springfield might possibly appear to be lost in an 
inland sea; but barring such an interesting cataclysm it will be safe 
to predict that the river will always be one of our permanent assets, 
as it always has been our most attractive physical feature. What- 
ever happens to our railroads, our streets, our merchandise and our 
morals, the river will never cease to run through the city. It is ours 
to cross, ours to embellish, ours to cleanse and to navigate. 

As to the crossing, the days for temporizing are over. We are too 
rich and too wise to build bridges that must be removed, re-built, or 
strengthened and enlarged during the next one or two centuries. 
Bridges over large streams should be among the most permanent of 




O. H. GREEN LEAF 



Whose unselfish devotion to public improvement 
was manifested in many ways 



Springfield Present and Prospective 25 

all artificial constructions. Established thoroughfares are supremely 
conservative institutions. The Appian Way, which has existed for 
two thousand years and more, the Bay Path and a thousand more, 
indicate that nothing is.more tenacious of life than a public highway. 
When these great viaducts, in sublime defiance of Nature's primeval 
arrangements, turn water into dry land, paradoxically closing a gap 
in the surface of the earth that never can be closed, their construc- 
tion becomes a performance worthy of solemn consecration, and the 
thing itself a fit object for pious adoration. 

In most emphatic terms, a noble bridge declares the courage 
and skill of its builders, and there is no grander illustration of the 
beauty of utility than a bridge of scientific construction and scholarly 
design. In no other artificial construction is there so little occasion 
for questionable compromise between grace and convenience, be- 
tween economy and strength, between daily drudgery and perennial 
delight. Is it likely that Springfield will neglect an opportunity 
that has been a century in coming ? Is it likely that the county, of 
which Springfield is the capital, will fail to recognize the benefit 
sure to follow the closer union and more intimate relationship of 
the parts of which the county is composed ? 

To say that a bridge should be built across the Connecticut river 
in this city in the form of a broad avenue, uniting the east and west 
shores as closely as Main street unites State to the streets and ave- 
nues a thousand feet to the north and south, is not a fantastic specu- 
lation, a day dream — it is the plainest common sense of the equine 
variety. To propose anything inadequate in breadth and strength 
for the multitudinous traffic sure to occupy it twenty-five years 
hence — fifty years — a century, — is to forget the lesson of the North- 
end bridge and waste the public funds by temporizing. To affirm 
that dignity and stateliness, graceful proportions and beauty of detail 
are necessarily more difficult to attain than their opposites, is to be- 
tray disqualifying ignorance. Certainly the river is ours to cross. 
It is also ours to cleanse and embellish. 

If Adam and Eve had been left in their original state of innocence 
and happiness, nobody appears to know exactly what would have 
happened to the rest of us, miserable sinners that we are — in nothmg 
more miserable and sinful than in our occasionally graceless fashion 
of introducing modern improvements, and setting up the standards 



26 Springfield Present and Prospective 

of half-civilized civilization on the ruins of semi-barbarous barbar- 
ism. In spoiling the heathen we have too often spoiled our own 
heritage. 'Squire Pynchon and Deacon Chapin, of blessed memory, 
found the water of the great river as sweet and clean as that of the 
streams that fed and feed it still — Jabish brook and Little river, the 
branches of the Westfield, Ware and Chicopee. Could it possibly 
have occurred to those shrewd and far-seeing pioneers that their 
enlightened descendants in this adorable valley would be obliged to 
spend, for drinking water alone, money enough to have bought the 
whole of the royal grant from Nova Scotia to New Amsterdam, from 
the Atlantic to the Pacific, all on account of their own short-sighted 
perversity ? Those pioneers may be pardoned for thinking — if they 
thought of it at all — that the broad, flowing river would no more 
be damaged by the impurities that escaped from their scattered 
settlements than is the sea by the wrecks that are rotting in its depths. 
We know better. We know that we have deliberately and selfishly 
polluted the noble stream; that its impurity is increasing every year; 
that it will go on increasing until in sheer self-preservation we shall 
begin the reform that ought to have been begun a generation ago, 
and which will cost more and more every year it is delayed. To cure 
the evil immediately would be as impossible as to eradicate catarrhal 
ragweed and malarial mosquitoes in a single season; but that fact 
does not exonerate us if we leave it unchecked. It does not justify 
us in bequeathing an unclean legacy to our unborn heirs. 

Neither is this an idle speculation. In many cities of our own 
and other countries, sewage and rivers are not invited to occupy 
the same bed to the utter waste of one and the hopeless ruin of the 
other, and so long as we continue this offensive habit we deserve to 
be written down as among those who strain at gnats and swallow 
camels. 

Cleansing naturally precedes embellishment; but if each waits 
for the other in this case, it is to be feared that we shall remain ragged 
and dirty for many years. We leave the river in its filth because the 
banks are filthy; we leave the leprosy of the banks undisturbed be- 
cause the river is unclean. Under wise business management the 
salvation of neither would wait for the other. 

The reclamation and embellishment of the river bank will not 
require its exclusive use for park purposes; quite the' contrary. Its 



: titbit 



m 




JUSTIN SACK ETT 

Who has left many evidences of his unselfish efforts to 
preserve the City's natural charms 








i^2^^ 




Springfield Present and Prospective 27 

embellishment should be like that of a dining-table when it is loaded 
with an abundance of wholesome food; of a workshop decorated 
with the finest tools and machinery; of a fertile farm ornamented 
by flocks and herds and bountiful crops. The most beautiful efi^ects 
will not be produced by treating the banks as ornamental pleasure 
grounds. The city can not afford such occupation, nor would it be 
suitable for land so central and valuable for commercial purposes. 
We may have plenty of serpents, but it would cost too much to make 
a Garden of Eden between Main street and the river. Court square 
and its proper treatment will be a sufficiently expensive luxury in 
the business section. There is plenty of room for riparian parks 
between Springfield and Holyoke, between Springfield and Thomp- 
sonville. This land is also too valuable for railroad uses, for steam 
railroads not only spoil all the land they occupy, but they depreciate 
the value of the property for a considerable distance at either side. 
Doubtless this happy marriage of use and beauty would mean, 
except where wharves are necessary, an esplanade with the open 
river on one side and business buildings fronting it on the other. 
The expense of constructing heavy buildings at the water's edge 
would be great, but a protected embankment suitable for walks and 
drives would be simple, affording ample opportunity for decorative 
features next the water without loss of room valuable for building. 

o 

Inseparably connected with the development of the river bank 
is the question of navigation. In navigation itself, rocks are objec- 
tionable, but they make good standing ground in forecasting the 
future of this subject. Among these bed rocks is the stubborn fact 
that heavy freight can be more economically transported by floating 
it in water than by any known contrivance of wheels on land, or wings 
in the air. Another fact is well established: commercial science 
abhors waste as Nature abhors a vacuum. Therefore when it can 
be shown that moving the freight, taken to and from Holyoke and 
Sprmgfield, by water instead of by land will effect an annual saving 
equal to a profitable percentage on the cost of making the river 
navigable for steam or other tugs and their trailing lines of barges, 
then the river will be made navigable to Springfield and Holyoke. 
Business common sense will not long neglect so plain an opportunity 
to save and make money, which is just as much a duty — provided it 
is done honestly — as eating. So in our treatment of the river and 



28 Springfield Present and Prospective 

its banks, we must anticipate wharves on both sides with suitable 
approaches and conveniences for the attendant work. They may 
not come this year, nor this decade, or (generation, but we can not 
help thinkins; they are sure to come. "The mills of the gods grind 
slowly, but they grind exceeding small," and they keep on grinding. 

3. OTHER GOALS TO BE GAINED 

Giving the river the first place in considering the future, there 
is much to be done in the way of perfecting the minor parks 
and increasing their number. In this department the first step, as 
in making a rabbit pie, is capturing the principal ingredient — 
first get the land. It would be a wild undertaking for the city to 
attempt to build at once river walls from Pecowsic to Chicopee, 
construct big wharves, complete the glories of Court square, build 
a new bridge, and fill up the waste and vacant places throughout 
the city with fountains and flowers, trees and statues; it would be 
the wisdom of Solomon himself to secure land that will sometime 
be available for both business and pleasure, while it is of little actual 
value. 

It can hardly be hoped that the whole of Hampden park will be 
acquired for the sole use and occupancy of the public; it is not un- 
reasonable to expect that a river-bank margin of suitable width may 
become a part of our park system. The land north of Hampden 
park has been mentioned; a similar piece across West street, north 
of the bridge on the river bank, if skillfully treated in connection 
with the causeway leading to the bridge, would make a dignified 
approach to this connecting link with West Springfield, and would 
be no more than a "retort courteous" to the charming approach 
from the other side. Beyond this the river bank further north 
might be secured while it is still unoccupied. 

Leaving the river, there is much unimproved land in the Atwater 
estate, some of which is apparently impossible of utilization except 
for parks or pasturage, either at present or in the future, and this 
should not be omitted in plans for future development. 

The land surrounding the Van Horn reservoir has been sug- 
gested as easily convertible into a pleasant pleasure ground. Wheth- 
er these ponds are permanently retained as a part of our water sup- 
ply or not, there would be great advantage in making them a part 






ThcRWcr-rrontat^CourtSii 




uarc : Qs l^ffialrBc 




GCG 



■■■-.. iJ 




Springfield Present and Prospective 



29 



of our park system. And, again, the shores of the Watershops pond; 
it is not conceivable that any other practicable treatment of the 
land along this lovely body of water could add more to its commer- 
cial value than the reservation by the city for park purposes of a 
belt including the road, giving to the building lots fronting the lake 
an outlook across the intervening park and water toward the east. 




In fact, the number and extent of the suburban parks and drives 
that may easily be established in the future round about Spring- 
field is limited only by the taste and enterprise of the citizens. 

Passing from these more or less ornamental features to just 
plain streets, one of the obvious improvements, easy enough now 
but growing more and more difficult every year, is the widening of 
certain portions of some of the narrower thoroughfares. Most of 
the buildings on the minor streets, and many of those on the princi- 



30 Springfield Present and Prospective 

pal avenues, have, at most, but a few years to live, and should not 
be allowed to cause a permanent defect in the city. The best time 
to make the crooked straight is before petrifaction or ossification 
takes place; the next best is any time before the cost of straightening 
becomes prohibitive. Still more foolish is the sparing of an old 
tree. We have the best authority for hewing down the trees that 
cumber the ground, which is exactly what every tree does that 
stands in the way of something better. 

Of still greater importance in the scientific evolution of the city's 
ground plan, is the extension of certain avenues which came to un- 
timely ends before they had finished their course. We may not 
expect a Baron Haussman or "Boss" Shepard to drive their civic 
battering rams through palaces and warehouses, slums and railway 
stations, for the greater glory of the city, but we indulge a reason- 
able hope that some time a strenuous city government backed by 
an enlightened public sentiment will accomplish the same ends 
more economically though more slowly. 

Fulton and Water streets, in their present divorced condition, 
can never fulfill their appointed mission; Dwight, that should be 
a broad avenue at least a mile and a half long, is incontinently 
barricaded by the misplaced union station; the convenience and 
business value of Chestnut street are seriously impaired by its steep 
descent into State; and for all of Ward one lying east of the Boston 
and Maine railroad, northward to the Chicopee line, there is no 
pubhc highway to the North-end bridge above the Memorial 
church. 

In regard to the future architecture of the city, we may be sure 
that its improvement will depend upon the cultivation of popular 
taste. Good architecture grows as slowly as fundamental Chris- 
tianity, and, to continue the comparison, its shallow, obtrusive ex- 
pression often attracts more attention, is more sure of admiration 
and imitation than the genuine article. Gradually examples of the 
best in architecture will find place in conspicuous portions of the 
city, and their quiet, persistent influence will lift us above the mere- 
tricious and commonplace. The significance of color, of harmony 
on a large scale, of proportion, which in architecture is like the lost 
chord in music, will be profoundly felt if never fully understood. 
The intersections of streets and the approaches to parks and bridges 




dPfhekisi 




TifnUbBM-Msf^ 




/^^-^re-^^#7 AT, ^OAAte^ , 



Springfield Present and Prospective 3 1 

will be emphasized by monumental features; spires, towers and 
domes will exemplify the abounding resources and activity. As 
in the elder days of Rome, "to be a Roman was greater than to be a 
king," so the citizens of Springfield may be nobly proud of their 
lofty ambitions and worthy achievements. 

Eugene C. Gardner 



I 



T would be impossible to mention all the public-spirited citizens 
who, by their generosity and wise foresight, have helped to make 
Springfield a beautiful city. Among these in recent years, but who 
have passed away, Tilly Haynes occupies a conspicuous position, 
not only because of his large bequest, but because of the gen- 
erous spirit which prompted him to leave it without restrictions 
that might impair its usefulness. The extension of Court square 
was always a cherished purpose of his, — it would not be fair to call 
it a dream, because it was too explicit, too obviously practicable. 
In the selection of the site for a new court house a veneration aeo, it 
was anticipated that sometime in the future the extension of the 
square would give this notable building a worthy setting. All of 
that Mr. Haynes foresaw, realizing full well that the inevitable 
future growth of the city would require an enlargement of the central 
public plaza. His bequest and the courageous spirit that prompted 
it has been like a beacon light, encouraging and leading others to 
join the ranks and keeping alive the thought and purpose of a beau- 
tiful city. 

Grateful memory is also due to O. H. Greenleaf for his liberal 
gift of land in Forest park, land which might have been sold advan- 
tageously to the owner without direct benefit to the city, and which 
men of more selfish character or narrower vision would have been 
sure to hold for private profit. His interest in this, as in all matters 
of public welfare, was maintained and practically manifested as 
long as he lived. 

Another who during his life did much, very much to increase the 
visible beauty of the city, was Justin Sackett. He had an innate 
love of natural beauty and rare skill, not in attempting to create, or 
rival what Nature alone can achieve, but in preserving the natural 
beauty that only needs loving care and appreciation to become more 
and more lovely with the passing years. Springfield abounds with 



72 S prnigfield Present and Prospective 

evidences of his keen insight and unselfish and well-directed efforts 
to preserve and develop what a bountiful Providence has provided. 

No one needs to be reminded of the long, disinterested and, hap- 
pily, still active service of Daniel J. Marsh. It may almost be said 
that without his constant personal effort, we should have had no 
Forest park in its present shape; that what is growing every year 
to be reckoned one of our brightest civic jewels — in fact a whole 
case of jewelry — would not have existed, or would have been at 
best of little note, liable at anytime to be sacrificed to private inter- 
est. Surely this is something compelling our gratitude, a direct refu- 
tation of the cynical words of the hypocritical Anthony, that the 
evil men do lives after them, while the good is oft interred with their 
bones. The reverse is true; such good deeds as these live on with 
increasing influence from generation to generation. 

Neither can we hear of this great public pleasure ground and 
recreation field with its simple natural charms and the rare beau- 
ties of the southern portion without remembering how much we owe 
to E. H. Barney, whose untiring zeal and noble generosity have 
done so much to enhance and make permanent the rare charms of 
Forest park. 

Not to complete the list even approximately, but to mention 
one of the younger citizens who has done much in the way of lay- 
ing broad foundations for the lasting beauty of the city, Nathan D. 
Bill should be remembered. With the liberal devotion of his own 
time and energy to public interests, with his broad conceptions and 
quick perception of practical values, we can not help looking to him 
for further achievement and leadership. 

These men are not mentioned as being the only ones whose un- 
selfish devotion has been manifested in the improvement of our city, 
or with the idea of giving even the smallest account of what each 
one has done — that would make a very long story; and the most val- 
uable part of their work is not in the actual accomplishment, excellent 
as these have been — it is in the example and in the incentive which 
they have given and are still giving to their contemporaries and 
successors. They have not been merely thinking and talking, they 
have been doing, and by what has been done they have shown the 
still nobler possibilities of the future. 

E. c. G. 




CVMl:^'^ ^-t^ 



^^^f^' 



EDVCATIONAL 1 
INSTITVTIONS 




T IS a matter of record that, in June, 1679, the town 
of Springfield contracted with Thomas Stebbins, Jr., 
to build a schoolhouse for the sum of fourteen pounds, 
or seventy dollars in terms of present currency. In 
September, 1898, this same community of Springfield 
opened to her youth a high school, whose cost, including land, build- 
ing and equipment reached a total of four hundred and fifty thous- 
and dollars. 

While such a comparison does not discredit the zeal of the early 
fathers for popular education, it does show the readiness of Spring- 
field to spend in generous measure for her schools, and indicates how 
great have been the changes in organization and method since the 
time of the seventeen-by-twenty- two-foot schoolhouse built by 
Thomas Stebbins, Jr. 

In the early days no special committee had charge of the work of 
popular education. At town meetings and in the sessions of select- 
men, questions relating to teachers, pupils and school buildings were 
considered and settled. The need of direct supervision was after- 
wards met by the organization of school districts, each under the 
care of a local committee. But the district system did not make for 
progress. Petty jealousies and neighborhood quarrels divided the 
town and set district in opposition to district. Thus a high school, 
opened in 1827, closed its doors from 1839 to 1841 because of oppo- 
sition from the outlying parts of the town. A superintendent of 
schools, the first officer of the kind in Massachusetts, was appointed 
in 1840, and again divided public opinion compelled the abolition of 
this office after something like a year's trial. 



34 Springfield Present and Prospective 

Meanwhile the State, under the leadership of Horace Mann, was 
calling for a more efficient conduct of schools and for higher stand- 
ards of instruction. In response to these demands the town began 
to consider the placing of all control in the hands of a central com- 
mittee. 

After much discussion the abolition of the district system was 
brought to pass in 1855. With this date and under the policy then 
inaugurated begins the modern school department of Springfield. 

Next in logical order was the appointment of a superintendent of 
schools. The growth of the city, the increase of school attendance 
and the multiplication of buildings made it impossible for the com- 
mittee to look after the details of school administration. Neither 
could any lines of progress or betterment be laid down. After the 
usual period of discussion and agitation the office of superintendent 
of schools was created and measures were taken to place the educa- 
tional system of the city in charge of an expert, elected by and 
responsible to the school committee. 

Since 1865, when Mr. E. A. Hubbard, the first superintendent, 
took up his duties, the city school system has made steady and per- 
manent adNance. For this progress the city is in large measure in- 
debted to the tact and leadership of the men to whom she has given 
in trust the care of her public schools. Under Mr. Hubbard, from 
1865 to 1873, many of the older style grammar schools, such as the 
Barrows and Hooker buildings, were erected. New methods of 
instruction were introduced. The high school grew in numbers and 
finally called for a new home. This was provided by the erection 
of a building now used by the State street grammar school. By 
careful selection the personnel of the teaching force was improved. 
Coherence and unity were given to the school system. Public 
confidence was secured and found expression in generous appropri- 
ations. 

Superintendent Admiral P. Stone extended and perfected the 
work of organization. In his annual reports he brought before the 
people the vital facts of the schools. His term of service, 1873 to 
1888, was a time of financial depression in the country at large and 
of reduced appropriations in the city. Mr. Stone by his ability in 
organization did much to bring the schools uninjured through this 
trying experience. 




CO 



i 




Co 




^^Lfyruz^. ^2t.^^. 



Springfield Present and Prospective 35 

Dr. Thomas M. Balliet assumed charge of the schools in April, 
1888. He brought to his task a broad and thorough training in the 
philosophy of education and a mastery of the best methods of instruc- 
tion. His inspiration and influence soon made themselves felt on 
teachers, committee and community. New lines of development 
were opened to meet the social and economic needs of the city. 
Kindergartens were placed on a permanent basis. The practical 
spirit of the time showed itself in the opening of cooking schools for 
both day and evening classes. Elementary evening schools were 
improved and extended and an evening high school established. 
With clear understandmg of the city's industrial needs. Doctor 
Balliet encouraged the development of the manual training course. 
In 1898, a Mechanic Arts high school was organized. This institu- 
tion is now known as the Technical high school, and is intended to 
join academic training with courses in shop work and applied science. 
An evening school of trades was opened in connection with this 
department of instruction. 

Material equipment made rapid advances during the period from 
1888 to 1904. Over a million dollars were spent on school buildmgs 
and among these are many that are recognized as among the best 
examples of school architecture in the country. 

In May, 1904, Doctor Balliet resigned his position to enter on his 
work as dean of the School of Pedagogy in New York university. 
His successor, Mr. Wilbur F. Gordy, was chosen in June, 1904. Mr. 
Gordy's long and successful experience in school duties and his un- 
derstanding of the practical problems of education insure the main- 
tenance of the high standards of Springfield and a continued progress 
along right lines. The community has already given Mr. Gordy its 
confidence and looks on him as worthy to wear the mantle of his 
high office. 

This brief historical sketch shows that in the half-century since 
the schools of Springfield were brought under one system of manage- 
ment, notable results in popular education have been secured. 
While there has been general advance in all lines of instruction, this 
city has certain characteristics that have given it a unique reputa- 
tion in the land. A prime cause of the excellence of the schools is 
the intelligent interest of the people in education. School men and 
citizens are one in the purpose to maintain the schools in the most 



36 Springfield Present and Prospective 

efficient condition. The community has always been able to com- 
mand the service of strong men and women for its school committee. 
The committee has wisely granted large powers to the superintend- 
ent and has not embarrassed him by needless limitations in the 
appointment of teachers or in the planning of courses of instruction. 
Politics and personal or partisan influence have never found an 
abiding place in the council of the school board. Hence in selecting 
teachers the only question is fitness for the duties of the position to 
be filled. Incompetent or inefficient teachers are not retained. 

The spirit and morale of the teaching body is unusual. Personal 
interest in the children and care for the needs of the individual have 
come to be traditions of the service. There is a fine enthusiasm in 
their work and an active interest in promoting the well-being of the 
community at large. As a result of the excellence of the Springfield 
schools and the strength of her instructors there has been an increas- 
ing tendency on the part of other cities to seek for candidates among 
the ranks of the local teachers. Too often these attempts have been 
successful. On the other hand it is worthy of note that loyalty to 
Springfield has led many teachers to remain, even at some financial 
sacrifice. 

In her educational policy, Springfield has always sought to give 
abundant room for individual initiative and has never hampered 
her teachers by petty restrictions. Routine details have been mini- 
mized. The demand has been for the impress of the personality of 
the instructor on the plastic nature of the child. Work under such 
conditions is sure to attract and hold men and women filled with the 
true spirit of the teacher. 

The same consideration for the needs of the child is shown in 
methods and courses of study. One illustration from the policy of 
the high schools will make clear the Springfield policy. While many 
boys and girls are fitted for college each year and sent to a large 
number of different institutions of learning, the methods of instruc- 
tion and curriculum are not dominated by the requirements for 
admission to the college. Rather is regard had to the best general 
training of the youth, in science, language, mathematics, history and 
art. Commercial and technical courses rank on an equality with 
college preparatory work. The high school maintains its own 
individuality and independence. Yet no schools rank better in 



Springfield Present and Prospective 37 

standing with the colleges and the success of Springfield graduates 
in higher institutions and the many distinctions that fall to them 
show that education for general efficiency brings in the long run 
better results than special preparation for an examination. 

Another characteristic of Springfield's educational system is the 
emphasis laid on practical studies. In this respect the city has 
shown a progressive spirit and open-minded attitude. For many 
years instruction has been given in cooking, sewing, and drawing, 
both free-hand and mechanical. Manual training is thoroughly 
taught in the grammar grades, and finds its culmination in the 
excellent courses of the Technical high school in wood and metal 
work, and in the evening school of trades with its provisions for 
instruction in various skilled industries. 

With the increase of the foreign-born population there has come 
a demand for increased facilities in evening schools to teach elemen- 
tary branches. Such schools are maintained in the Elm street build- 
ing and at Indian Orchard. In 1904, there was a total enrollment 
in these schools of 1,430. All the evening classes, including the 
high school, evening draughting, free-hand drawing and trades 
school, gave a total enrollment of 2,421 students. 

Practical studies are given a large place in the evening high 
school and the classes in bookkeeping, arithmetic, stenography, 
typewriting and laboratory work in science are well attended. While 
the Central high school holds firmly to the idea of general as opposed 
to special training, opportunities are given for a commercial educa- 
tion. The ready demand for high school graduates by business 
men testifies to the value of the instruction in both academic and 
technical subjects. Yearly more positions are offered than there 
can be found graduates to fill. 

In this connection attention is called to the growth and develop- 
ment of the Technical high school. The experimental stage of man- 
ual traiplng lasted from 1886 to 1898. At first the courses were 
mainly in the grammar grades, but in 1896 a four-years' course was 
established in connection with the Central high school. In 1898 an 
independent school of secondary grade, known as the Mechanic Arts 
high school, was organized. In May, 1904, the name was changed to 
Technical high school. The school for a long time occupied rented 
quarters in the Springfield Industrial institute at Winchester Park 



38 Springfield Present and Prospective 

but a fine building is now under construction on Elliott street at a 
cost of over $300,000, and planned to provide large facilities for 
instruction in academic and technical studies. Courses in home 
economics and domestic science will be given in this school. The 
building will accommodate nine hundred pupils. 

The practical side of education is kept in due subordination to 
the claims of general culture. Such studies as free-hand drawing 
and music have been recognized in the curriculum of all grades. 
In the Central high school, classes in musical analysis and harmony 
mark an advanced line of study, and have received special mention 
from the state board of education. 

Within recent years expert attention has been given to the proper 
physical development of children. A supervisor of physical culture 
has the oversight of the pupils of the grammar and primary grades. 
Games and light gymnastics are provided. Outdoor sports are en- 
couraged and directed. In the high school all athletics are under 
the supervision of a competent physical director, while every boy is 
required to do definite gymnasium work. The school board is now 
earnestly urging the organization of a system of medical inspection. 

In material equipment, the city has provided most generously 
for her schools. 

The buildings recently erected for grammar and high school pur- 
poses have attracted favorable comment from visitors. Mention 
has already been made of the Central and Technical high schools. 
In 1903, the Chestnut street grammar school was completed at a 
cost of $135,961. The Forest Park building, dating from 1899, 
represents an outlay of $go,ooo. The William street school, in- 
cluding land and building, is valued at $76,000. Provision is made 
of the most modern and efficient appliances for sanitation, including 
heat and ventilation. Such buildings with their tasteful decorations 
and neat surroundings constitute no small factor in the education of 
the child's taste and contribute to right conduct. 

Tribute to the excellence of Springfield's school system is given 
in the attention her schools have received from students of education. 
In 1902, commissioners from New South Wales, officially delegated 
by their government to examine the school systems of the world, 
spent two days in Springfield, and in their report gave high praise to 
what they saw in this city. Many foreign delegates to the educational 




WILBUR F. GORDY 




^ 





^Toung Merits Chnstuw .issocmtion Traitting School^The Dormitories 
'Wood's Hall 



SprtngfielJ Present and Prospective 39 

congress at St. Louis in 1904 made a point of inspecting the schools 
of Springfield on their way home. Most significant was the visit of 
Dr. Paul Albrecht, minister of public instruction for Alsace-Lorraine", 
who made a special study of methods of teaching ancient and mod- 
ern languages, a field in which Germans are supposed to be masters. 

These visits were due in part to the impression made by the exhi- 
bition of the Springfield schools at the expositions at Chicago in 
1893, Buffalo in 1900, and finally at St. Louis in 1904. At the St. 
Louis fair three gold medals were awarded, one for elementary edu- 
cation in arithmetic, one for evening trades classes, and one for 
secondary education. 

Springfield, now fully entered on her second half-century of exist- 
ence as a city, possesses a great treasure in the organization, equip- 
ment, standards and spirit of her schools and teachers. Generous 
appropriations from the public treasury, cordial support of the school 
board, freedom from political and personal influences in the city 
government, are the civic factors that have contributed to this result. 
Under such favorable conditions, capable, broad-minded and expert 
superintendents, joined in a common work with loyal and efficient 
teachers, have instilled through the schools into the youth of the 
community the best of their life and character. No better founda- 
tion can a city lay for continued prosperity. Economic success de- 
pends on an abundant supply of trained workmen. These the 
schools are furnishing, and in greater numbers and variety as de- 
partments of instruction multiply. Public peace and safety depend 
on the right attitude of the citizen towards all questions of law and 
order. Such lessons faithful teachers supply by example and pre- 
cept. Great problems of the municipality call for minds capable of 
grasping details and reaching sound conclusions. The exercises of 
the classroom give this mental power to the coming voter. Above 
all else should the spirit and atmosphere of the schoolroom influence 
the youth to consider his higher duties to the city and state, duties 
that call for self-sacrifice in the interest of the community, the true 
civic spirit that alone makes democracy possible. 

As Springfield has loyally supported her schools in the past, she 
will in the future provide fully the means and conditions necessary 
to assure progress and an even better adaptation to the needs of the 
public weal. 



40 Springfield Present and Prospective 

Certain Other Schools 

SPRINGFIELD, through the enterprise of her citizens, aided by her 
advantages of easy access to New York and Boston, and by her 
attraction as a residential city, has been selected as a home for two 
institutions of learning that are doing interesting, unique and val- 
uable work. These are the International Young Men's Christian 
Association Training school and the American International college, 
formerly known as the French-American college. The International 
Training school was founded in 1885 by Rev. David Allen Reed 
in connection with the School for Christian Workers. In 1890, it 
became independent, and in 1891 was established in its present home 
on the shores of Massasoit lake. Here it possesses a property of 
thirty acres of land with the use of the lake two and a half miles long 
for boating purposes. 

The first building, a model gymnasium, was erected in 1894. 
Connected with this is a fine athletic field. Since 1894, there have 
been added a dormitory, boat house and Woods hall, a building 
that provides dining-room and kitchen, together with facilities for 
social purposes. The total value of the property is estimated at 

;? 1 50,000. 

As its name indicates, the special function of the school is to 
train workers for the service of the Young Men's Christian associ- 
ation. Two distinct fields are recognized, secretaryship and that 
of physical director. This work has been done with great suc- 
cess and the reputation of the school is so high that application for 
its graduates are five times greater than the number of men available. 
Universities, academies and high schools are also looking to this 
institution for men to take charge of their athletics and physical 
training. Graduates of the school are to be found in many of the 
important cities of the United States and Canada and widely scat- 
tered through the foreign field. 

As an equipment for instruction the school has a library of seven 
thousand volumes and over sixty thousand pamphlets and maga- 
zines. Many of these books are of unique value as they relate to 
the history, methods and development of the Young Men's Christian 
association. Laboratories are also provided for practical experi- 
mentation in physiology, physics and psychology. 



&-- 





^The American Inlertiational College — JVomen''s Building 
^The McDuijie School on Central Street 





^''"The Elms,"^ on High Street -The Drawing-room 



Springfield Present and Prospective 41 

The faculty is composed of nine professors whose work is sup- 
plemented by the assistance of eleven instructors and twelve lec- 
turers. Among the courses given are those on history and literature 
of the Young Men's Christian association, anatomy, psychology, 
sociology, physiology, anthropometry and the Bible. The grad- 
uates of the school are exerting a potent influence on the youth of 
America by their teaching and example. Purity of life and high 
ideals are inculcated through the medium of the association, while 
a positive work is being done through schools and universities to 
elevate the tone of athletics and to make out-door and in-door 
sports a means of character building. 

As a factor that makes for a vigorous manhood the International 
Training school is winning general recognition and the generous sup- 
port of men of means. Its location in Springfield is an advantage 
to the school and a credit to the city. 

The French-American college was founded in Lowell May I, 
1885, to provide for the needs of the great and growing French 
population of New England. Immigration from Canada had 
assumed such proportions as to cause serious concern to those in- 
terested in the social and religious condition of Massachusetts and 
neighboring states. To train up teachers and leaders for this new 
element of our citizenship was felt to be an imperative need of the 
times. After an interval of three years the college was transferred to 
Springfield, where a building, Owen Street hall, was erected for 
its accommodation. A dwelling-house known as the Cottage, was 
purchased and put at the disposal of the institution. The college 
now possesses in addition a gymnasium hall, a printing office, a 
dwelling-house, occupied by one of the professors, and the Woman's 
hall. The last structure was finished in 1899 and contains a chapel, 
reception hall, dining-room and kitchen, and dormitory provisions 
for young women in attendance on the college. The college grounds 
contain five and one-half acres, and the total property is valued at 
^go,ooo. 

Since its foundation the institution has broadened its scope to 
include, besides French speaking peoples, students from the Italian, 
Greek, Armenian, Polish and Spanish races, and in 1905 the name 
was changed to the American International college. Rapidly chang- 
ing conditions in New England have made advisable such a widening 



42 Springfield Present and Prospective 

of the influence of the college. To meet the needs of its constituency 
two courses of study are offered by this institution. The college 
proper aims to provide instruction similar in range and thoroughness 
to that commonly accepted as included in the requirement for the 
degree of A.B. Those who complete the collegiate course are qual- 
ified to enter on professional training and to become teachers among 
their own people. 

The second department, known as the French-American acad- 
emy, covers the ground of a secondary education. Its regular 
classical course calls for a term of study of four years. In connection 
with the academy is the Gymnasium Hall school, which provides 
special training for pupils who are deficient in some branches. 
It supplements admirably the work of the academy proper. Re- 
ligious training constitutes an important part of the curriculum in 
both college and academy. 

Students are given the opportunity to learn the art of printing 
and to care for the grounds and buildings under supervision. The 
American International college has under great difficulties succeeded 
in doing a valuable work in training the young people who come 
under its care in the duties and responsibilities of Christian living 
and good citizenship. 

Springfield is fortunate in possessing two private schools of high 
grade. The older of these is The Elms, a school for girls, with fully 
organized courses of instruction of high, intermediate and primary 
grades. This school was opened in Hadley in 1866, and in 1881 it 
removed to Springfield, where it has an attractive location on High 
street. The removal involved no change in management. The 
Elms has a high standing and is recognized for the excellence of its 
college preparatory work by the leading women's colleges, such as 
Smith, Vassar, Mt. Holyoke and Wellesley. All these institutions 
have granted this school the right of admission by certificate. The 
Elms has a reputation for thorough instruction in all branches. 
It offers good courses in music, art, physical culture and the study of 
current literature. 

The MacDuffie school for girls is most fortunate in its situation. 
It occupies the homestead of the late Samuel Bowles on a spot near 
the center of the city and yet quiet and retired. Well organized 



Springfield Present and Prospective 43 

courses of study are pursued in this school under competent instruct- 
ors. The departments cover the entire period from kindergarten 
to entrance to college. Music, language and art are given careful 
attention. Graduates of the school are accepted on certificate by 
New England colleges for women. Preparation is also made for the 
examination for admission to Radcliffe. The school is attended 
by day pupils from the city and has a number of resident scholars 
who come from a distance. 

William Orr 



Technical Education 

SPRINGFIELD stands foremost among the cities of the 
country in the prominence given in her educational system 
to those school exercises which give training and informa- 
tion that may be quickly turned to practical account. She 
was among the first to introduce manual training-. This 
was to be expected. The first city in Massachusetts to elect a super- 
intendent of schools, a city that has always been characterized by 
the keenest interest on the part of her citizens in the education of 
her youth, generously supporting the schools and taking a pride in 
keeping them well up to the times in equipment and efficiency, was 
sure to be the first city to appreciate the industrial needs of the age 
and to make an effort to meet them. 

Nineteen years ago manual training was introduced into the 
schools of this city. It is a credit to the wisdom of the school com- 
mittee then in power and to the intelligence and public spirit of the 
citizens that a beginning was made in this important form of educa- 
tional work eight years before the law requiring it was written in 
the statutes. Nor is this fact the only evidence in the city's belief 
in the policy of making the schools thoroughly practical. In 1898, 
after twelve years of experimenting, Springfield entered upon a 
distinct and comprehensive system of manual and technical training. 
An independent high school was then organized, of which the dis- 
tinctive feature was that every student enrolled must take a four- 
years' course in the mechanic arts, together with a full course in the 





mil II 1 RBI 6 ■■ I ■ 



I 





m 





kji nil I _ 




■-^SsSg^ 



^^m^^ 



HV illiam Street School -South Main Street School 



Springfield Present and Prospective 45 

The mechanical wing, situated in the rear of the main building, 
is of peculiar design and construction and well suited to its special 
uses. In the basement of this wing is the forge shop, 67 feet square, 
covered by a monitor roof of special design which admits light and 
provides for ventilation. On one side of the forge shop are located 
the boiler and engine rooms, and on the other the foundry and wood- 
turning shops. The basement also contains two rooms for the plumb- 
ing classes and the necessary locker rooms. On the first floor of the 
mechanical wing are three rooms designed for machine-shop work 
and three for joinery and pattern-making. All these rooms are well 
lighted by large and numerous windows, and some of them receive 
light through the low roof which covers the main part of the mechan- 
ical wing. The rear of this wing is carried up two stories higher 
than the main part, and on the first of these additional stories are 
three rooms, one for electrical work, another for wood-finishing, 
another for free-hand drawing. The top floor of this elevated por- 
tion is to be entirely given over to the department of mechanical 
drawing, and is divided into two large drawing-rooms, a lecture- 
room, and several accessory rooms. 

The building is designed to be of moderate cost and yet pro- 
vide everything essential to a thoroughly-equipped technical high 
school. It will cost, exclusive of the lot, but including the nec- 
essary equipment, not less than $265,000. Ordinary red brick 
is the principal material used for its construction, but the main 
building is finished in a special grade of red brick, with Indiana 
limestone trimmings. The central portion around the main entrance 
is entirely of Indiana limestone. The entire building is of fireproof 
construction of the modern reinforced concrete type. This form of 
construction not only furnishes complete protection against fire, but 
insures durability, freedom from sound transmission and from dust 
and other unsanitary conditions. The corridor floors are of grano- 
lithic or terrazzo material, and the stairs have concrete treads. The 
heating and ventilating system depends upon the forced circulation 
of hot water with direct radiation and an abundant supply of fresh 
air at a moderate temperature under the control of pressure and 
exhaust fans. A 125-horse-power engine with a direct-connected 
electrical generator furnishes the power for the heating and venti- 
lating system, for the machine work of the mechanical departments, 



48 S pringficld Present and Prospective 

the century just passed. It is doubtful if there has been for many 
years any improvement in educational thought and practice of greater 
present value or of better promise for the future than the emphasis 
now being given to the practical side of education through the 
various forms of manual and technical training. 

But the present development of the practical element in the 
schools of Springfield has not been brought about at the expense of 
general culture, nor is it likely to lead to that result. The too early 
and perhaps over-emphasized specializing of some foreign schools 
will not be copied anywhere in America. It is cenainly not the 
province of technical high schools to develop special skill by practice 
along narrow lines. The aim is breadth of training combined with 
effectiveness. All the older studies of proved value are retained and 
their value increased by giving them vital relations with practical 
life. 

Charles F. Warner 




y<Jli:^u;ui^f..-tya -^i^y-t^-Str-T-^f^^ y^/^X^^CZ^,^ 





HERE is probably no other city of its rank in this 
country so distinguished for its possession and its 
appreciation of art as Springfield. Its own production 
in painting or sculpture is not large, — in fact it has not 
produced a single sculptor; even its mortuary monu- 
ments are designed if not executed in Italy; while its painters, though 
we shall presently do them deserved honor, do not transcend in 
ability or exceed in number those of other cities no larger or more 
cultured. But the city which gives a home to the great and various 
art collections of George Walter Vincent Smith, — a home of beautiful 
architecture, without a fellow in its proportions and contents, — has 
no rivalry in comparison; and the support which for thirty years it 
has given to an annual exhibition of the art of American painters 
testifies to something very unusual in the constituency of the region. 
The most extraordinary feature of the culture of this city is un- 
doubtedly the Art Museum. It is now famed even beyond the 
boundaries of the continent; it is known in the European capitals 
and in the great east of far Asia. This is because it houses the col- 
lections of Mr. Smith. To this remarkable man is in simple truth 
due the credit for our reputation. The way in which he came to 
make his collections, and the causes which led him to choose the 
people of this city and its vicmage for his beneficiaries, must be 
known in the first place. 

Mr. Smith is descended of a long New England ancestry, clearly 
traced from 1639, when Giles Smith settled in Hanford; and in his 
eight generations in America there came into his Puritan heritage 



50 Springfield Present and Prospective 

twice a strain of the French Huguenot, which he regards as of 
moment in coloring his temperament and inducing his irresistible 
passion for art; which, while it never led him to essay any field of 
production, has swayed his whole life. Not to dwell upon the busi- 
ness career of many prosperous forebears, including his father, who 
died when he was two years old, it must be noted that he himself 
began work as a youth with a New York importing house, and rose 
to be its confidential assistant and manager; that later he engaged 
in a manufacturing enterprise on his own account and was prospered 
therein, but retired from it in 1867, when he was but thirty-five 
years old, to pursue a career more to his preference — the cultivation 
and development of his aesthetic tastes. He gave up monev-makmg 
except as an incidental means of indulging these tastes, and having 
when only eighteen years old begun the acquirement of beautiful 
examples of art, this has been, ever since his retirement from active 
business pursuits, the one object of his life. Abjuring all display 
and luxury of living, he devoted his years to the culture of the art 
sense in Europe, in the society of artists and connoisseurs, and 
among the treasures of its galleries and museums, never neglecting 
interest in American art, and becoming the friend and patron of our 
home artists. He traveled widely, and became known first in Europe, 
and then by his purchases to the purveyors of Japanese and Chinese 
art. It is by this devotion to a single purpose that Mr. Smith gath- 
ered his marvelous collections, a considerable part of which are now 
in the Springfield Art Museum. 

He came to be a resident of Springfield through marriage with 
Miss Belle Townsley, daughter of George R. Townsley, a highly- 
esteemed citizen of large public spirit and individual character. 
Various circumstances contributed to his determination to make 
here the final home of his collections and the repository of his life- 
work. The City Library association, under the wise management 
of Rev. Dr. William Rice, its first librarian, had been so chartered 
that it could include as a part of its educational scheme a permanent 
display of art in all fields, and when the time came, Mr. Smith 
offered to bequeath to the association his collections, and to endow 
them, on condition that they should be provided with suitable rooms 
for their display and their preservation intact and apart from all 
other gifts. At the same time Mrs. Smith offered her rare and fine 







kf^ 




4 





^iiotac-^hiC^ (l/mmt/~(i:^h 







V- 









'Gallery of Paintings in Jri Museum (vxst end), with Wood's Portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Smith 
'The Bronzt Eagle of Shokichi in the Gallery of Paintings 



Springfield Present and Prospective 51 

collection of laces and embroideries. The conditions were accepted 
and the beautiful building, planned by the late Walter Tallant Owen 
of Springfield, in the noted architectural firm of Renwick, Aspinwall 
i^ Renwick, was built. From the bequest of ;^5o,ooo made by 
Horace Smith, ;S35,ooo was drawn for the land, and toward the 
erection of the building sixty-nine individuals and firms of Spring- 
field subscribed some ;^90,ooo, the largest contributors being Miss 
Harriet B. Hitchcock, John Olmsted, James A. Rumrill, James 
Kirkham, Mrs. Amelia Chapin Haile, P. P. Kellogg, Mrs. C. L. 
Covell and Mrs. Horatio N. Case. The names of all are inscribed 
on a bronze tablet at the entrance. The building, in Italian renais- 
sance style, is one of the most beautiful examples of befitting archi- 
tecture in the country. It should be noted that along its frieze, on 
the south-west side and on the front, are wrought in metal letters 
the names of great artists, and for the first time in the world the 
names of Japanese and Chinese artists rank with those of Europe. 
In all this work, interior and exterior, Mr. Smith's taste was the 
governing factor. 

There has not been too much space given to these preliminaries, 
since after all the collections are what make the city exceptional. 
Mr. Smith's scope of choice has been catholic; while the principal 
and striking feature of the collections is the predominance of the 
art in porcelains, cloisonne ware, bronzes, jades, iron, lacquer, and 
ivory, of Japan and China, there are also shown here noteworthy 
examples of the armor of past ages, from complete suits of mail of 
the days of chivalry in Europe and Japan to the curious weapons of 
savage nations; missals and gospels of the Christian church before 
the days of printing, Jewish scrolls and Mohammedan manuscripts, 
Japanese books, and so on. There are also many examples of an- 
cient carved furniture from Venice and other Italian cities. A strik- 
ing rarity is a shrine by the famous Jacopo Sansovino. There are 
also vestments of the Roman church, and aristocratic coats and 
waistcoats and small clothes of the days "when a gentleman did 
not dress like a waiter." Several cabinets contain stuffs of the rich- 
est weaves and patterns from various lands. Wall cases contain 
rugs, the finest products of the patient weavers of Hindustan, Cash- 
mere, Kurdistan, Turkistan, Dar^hestan and other Asiatic countries 
where this work is done. Musical instruments are not made a 



52 Springfield Present and Prospective 

specialty in the collection, but there are a few of these of curious 
interest — as curious as, more pleasing than, the kreeses of the Malay 
and the beheading knives — the cimeters — of the Filipinos, which 
make real to us the barbarisms of the East. 

The display of Mrs. Smith's exquisitely chosen and arranged 
laces and embroideries occupies a number of cases in the largest hall 
of the museum, which was originally intended for a gallery of paint- 
ings, and which now has a few noteworthy canvases, among which 
is a portrait of a young Spanish grandee by Velasquez — presented 
to Mr. Smith by Mr. Renwick the architect, and in itself a distinction 
for a provincial town. There is also in this room a statue of modern 
Italian art given by Mr. Carnegie, in token of his admiration for the 
collections and the museum. It is a "Mercury in Repose." A noble 
wood interior by R. M. Shurtleff hangs on the walls, and a stunning 
example of the metallic style of painting, "The Village Tinker," by 
Henry Mosler. Around this gallery are distributed some of the most 
remarkable items of the Smith collection, among them a number of 
Greek amphoras, rescued from the Ionian Sea a few years ago; 
some great Imari jars, beautiful old cabinets and fine suits of Japa- 
nese armor. 

In the same building, on the first floor, is a large gallery of casts 
from the great Greek and Roman statuary, from the Italian Renais- 
sance, from medieval religious sculpture, and though not a great col- 
lection, it is one wisely selected, and the room is called the Horace 
Smith hall of sculpture. There are two attractive audience halls, 
which open into each other, for the purpose of special meetings and 
of lectures in behalf of education and culture. These are adorned 
with many portraits of eminent citizens of Springfield, connected 
with the great city library institution, and in the halls and readmg- 
rooms of the William Rice building are many more portraits of 
historical value, not a few being also of importance in art; the works 
are by Chester Harding, William S. Elwell, Joseph O. Eaton, 
Thomas Waterman Wood, Irene Parmelee and others. The por- 
traits of Doctor Rice, Samuel Bowles, Chester W. Chapin, Dr. 
David P. Smith, Horace Smith, George Bliss, Maj. G. W. Whistler 
— the railroad engineer, father of the celebrated artist James Abbott 
McNeil Whistler, — William Merrick, a generous benefactor of the 
city in many ways, after whom Merrick park was named, are here 
to be mentioned. 



Springfield Present and Prospective 53 

The other extraordinary record of Springfield in the line of art 
has been the series of exhibitions of American paintings which 
James D. Gill (now collector of internal revenue in Boston) has 
carried on for twenty-seven years, with a success unrivaled in the 
country. If any man can assert himself a friend and the furtherer 
of American art, it is Mr. Gill. These exhibitions, however, owe 
their initiative, their launching, to George Walter Vincent Smith, 
who in 1878 enlisted the ready interest of Mr. Gill, then dealer in 
books, art and stationery, who had already held some picture exhi- 
bitions in his store; and Mr. Smith filled an improvised gallery 
with a collection of somewhat more than fifty paintings by note- 
worthy American artists — his wide and intimate acquaintance with 
them all enabling him to secure a fine representative collection. He 
succeeded in selling here thirty-six out of the number hung, and in 
the next year gave valuable service in establishing that standard of 
excellence which ever since has been maintained by Mr. Gdl, with 
resulting success in reputation and pecuniary reward that is quite 
unparalleled in the country. Mr. Gill has in the course of these 
nearly thirty years brought into Springfield more than three thousand 
oil paintings (and for one season, water colors also), and has sold 
from twenty-five to forty out of each separate display; thus he has 
placed in the homes of this city and its neighbors — sometimes, in- 
deed, in cities hundreds of miles away — at least eight hundred, and 
probably more than a thousand, representative works of American 
art. In all this time, though often tempted to exhibit foreign paint- 
ings, Mr. Gill has remained true to that patriotic feeling; the only 
European work to receive a place in his exhibitions during these 
many years being a landscape by Rosa Bonheur — which, we regret 
to say, found no purchaser here. Mr. Gill has thus gained room in 
Springfield for some of the most admirable landscapes or marines of 
Inness, Wyant, Swain GifFord, Sanford Gifford, Jervis McEntee, 
Worthington Whittredge, Frederick E. Church, Winslow Homer, 
J. C. NicoU, Maurice De Haas, John G. Tyler, Francis Murphy, 
Samuel Colman, R. M. Shurtleff, Thomas Lachlan Smith, Robert 
C. Minor, James M. Hart, William Hart, Thomas Moran, Edward 
Moran, J. B. Bristol, F. K. M. Rehn, among others; the figure 
pieces of J. G. Brown, T. W. Wood, Leon and Percy Moran, F. S. 
Church, F. E. Bridgman, Hamilton Hamilton, Edgar M. Ward; 



54 Springfield Present and Prospective 

the cattle or sheep pieces of Howe, Wentvvorth, Tait; the historical 
compositions of Wordsworth Thompson, the genre work of E. L. 
Henry and Harry Roseland, — and more whom to name would make 
the list tedious. The exhibition of Mr. Gill has thus been for over a 
quarter century the art event of the year, and bids fair still to re- 
main so. That American art has been encouraged and helped by 
Mr. Gill's ceaseless and intelligent business enterprise is patent to 
all who note this unrivaled record. He has known how to bring to 
his market the pictures that will surely sell, and with them also works 
of such eminence as must dignify the exhibition and may find a wise 
buyer. Many masterpieces of the foremost of our artists are owned 
in the city or near by because of Mr. Gill's shrewd judgment and 
educated taste. 

The city is fortunate in possessing two works of art of the first 
order in their respective lines, the heroic bronze statue of "The 
Puritan," by Augustus St. Gaudens, on Merrick park, and the stained 
glass painting of Mary of Magdala at the Tomb, by John La Farge, 
in the parish house of Christ church. The statue is the gift to the 
city of the lateChester W. Chapin, president of the Boston and Albany 
railroad and member of Congress, in honor of the ancestor of all "the 
Chapin tribe," now a very great one in this country, who was 
Deacon Samuel Chapin, one of the early settlers of Springfield and 
a sturdy man, as befitted the time and his duty. The statue is no 
portrait of any Chapin, but a composite in the sculptor's mind of 
the family type, and fitly given the ideal name, "The Puritan." 
Under that name it is famous in the wider world, and a cast in 
the Luxembourg ranks it in France with the foremost sculptures of the 
day, and indeed St. Gaudens is by wonhy critics placed beside the 
men of the Italian Renaissance. 

John La Farge is represented here by one of his most beautiful 
of glass paintings through the desire of Mrs. Daniel Putnam Crocker 
to memorialize her husband, a prominent parishioner of Christ 
church. There is in all this artist's work a quality of individual in- 
spiration, especially in religious subjects, which glows in his very 
device of color. The window is one to remember. There are also 
in the parish house several other memorial windows, of simpler 
subjects, from the studio of Mr. La Farge, and others; and in the 
chancel of Christ church there is a group of windows wrought by 





^A Gallery of Porcelains and Curios -ArmSf Armor and Cloissonne Ware 







^ 

w 

^ 



u 



Springfield Present and Prospective 55 

the most eminent glass painting house in England, that of Heaton, 
Butler y Payne of London, which is well worth seeing. The Church 
of the Unity is adorned with a series of beautiful windows, mainly 
from the TifFanys, but also from the Church Decorating company, 
and of these a copy of Correggio's "Holy Night," and a noble figure 
of Heosphoros, the Light Bringer, by Edward Simmons, are to be 
noted. The last mentioned is in memorial of Samuel Bowles. 

Besides the St. Gaudens statue, there is on Court square a memo- 
rial of another first settler of Springfield, in the statue of Sergeant 
Miles Morgan with bell-mouthed gun over his shoulder and hoe in 
hand, as wrought in bronze by Jonathan Scott Hartley; a gift to the 
city by a New York banker, Junius S. Morgan, descendant of the 
sergeant. Also there is the soldiers' monument on Court square, 
given by Gurdon Bill, — a sentinel surmounting a granite shaft; 
while in the Springfield cemetery there is another soldiers' monument 
in the burial plot of the veterans, done by Manuel Power. The 
bust of President McKinley, the work of Philip Martiny, is erected 
in Forest park, on the southern point over the Pecowsic valley. It 
was placed there through the subscription of citizens. The treasures 
of art that are kept in Springfield homes are numerous, as the record 
of Mr. Gill's sales bears witness; but besides these are many paint- 
ings which the local public has not seen, the purchases of citizens in 
New York of foreign art. There are several collections, largely of 
the art of Paris, in the city and in near towns, such as that of James 
T. Abbe; and Dr. Luke Corcoran has a fine picture gallery at his 
home on Maple street. In the privacy of some of the few old houses 
and old families there are noteworthy portraits of past generations; 
perhaps no Copley, Stuart or Smibert, but work of artists of much 
fame in their day, as, for example, Chester Harding; one of the most 
striking portraits of the many Harding painted of Daniel Webster 
lonsr huno; in Hiehland Place, the mansion of the late Col. lames 
M. Thompson, and is now the property of the Algonquin club of 
Boston. 

Art has not been without its representatives in Springfield, but 
with few exceptions these have been born elsewhere, and generally 
have elsewhere gained their fame, though we are bettering that of 
late years in an increasing number of painters in oils and water 
colors. Our most distinguished artist of the earlier days was 



56 Springfield Present and Prospective 

Chester Harding, who made his home in the town from 1830 to his 
death in 1866, when he was nearly 74 years old, and as full of honors 
as of years. Harding belonged in the Connecticut valley, for he 
was grandson of a Deerfield farmer on the father's side and of a 
Whately farmer on the mother's, while he himself was born in the 
adjoining town of Conway, Sept. i, 1792. He had a youth of petty 
adventure in peddling, and scrambled into portrait painting through 
sign painting, with little education of any sort and none in art. Yet 
he became the vogue in Boston to so great a degree that, in 1822, 
when 30 years old, as he has recorded, he had a long waiting list, 
and "Mr. Stuart, the greatest portrait painter this country ever 
produced, was at that time in his manhood's strength as a painter, 
yet he was idle half the winter. He would ask of his friends, 'How 
rages the Harding fever ?' " And he had as great a success in Great 
Britain, not only on one visit, but on several, painting royal high- 
nesses and so on. These facts are worth recalling, because Mr. 
Hardins should not be forgotten in the town which he chose as his 
home in his prime and in which he died. Among his intimate friends 
were George Ashmun and Daniel Webster. His " Egotistigraphy," 
which he wrote for his family and which was published with further 
notes by his daughter, Mrs. White, ought to be known as a record 
of a noteworthy man. His personal appearance was remarkable, 
for he was six feet three inches in height, nobly proportioned, and 
his portrait in the city library will indicate how it was that he, with 
his air of Nature's nobleman, won so well in life. 

Mr. Harding had a pupil in William S. Elwell, whose career 
as artist was cut short in his prime by paralysis though he con- 
tinued to paint throughout his life, producing beautiful miniature 
landscapes. He learned in the school wherein the painter made 
his own palette, and used a score or two of colors, mixing them as 
he chose, and there was a fashion of delicacy and refinement which 
critics of the "Hudson River School" have characterized as feeble- 
ness. Yet if one of these critics should look upon Asher Durand's 
great mountain view in the Metropolitan Museum, or Frederick E. 
Church's "Cotopaxi" in the Lenox library galleries, he would be 
hard put to it to tell where the work could be improved. This is 
only to say that Mr. Elwell painted beauty in the way in which he 
could with his limited opportunities behold it, and was to his last 




CHESTER HARDING 

From the Portrait painted by himself 




WILLIAM S. ELWELL 

From a Crayon Portrait by Willis S. Adams 



Springfield Present and Prospective 57 

bit of gray matter an artist. One who has a miniature Elwell may 
value it highly. Mr. Elwell died in 1881, at the age of 71, and his 
body was buried in Springfield cemetery, where a rude granite 
boulder, overgrown by vines, as he desired, marks the place. His 
name and dates are cut in a palette-shaped place on the rock; while 
not far away is the freestone monument of Harding. 

The artists of Springfield have grown to larger numbers than of 
old. Among them one pays respect first to Roswell G. Shurtleff, 
who, like Mr. Elwell, paints with careful elegance, and is particu- 
larly fortunate in his portrayal of autumn scenery in the hills. An 
artist long associated with Springfield, by years of residence, by 
friendship and by neighborhood, is Willis Seaver Adams, who lives 
now in the house where he was born, in Suffield close by the old 
Enfield bridge, and there paints wondrous landscapes, such as would 
make him famous if he exhibited in the great cities, as he some- 
times does in Hartford and Springfield. He is a great artist, in both 
oils and water colors, but he would like to conceal it from the 
public. He studied and sojourned in Antwerp, Munich, Venice 
and elsewhere in Europe; was associated with Whistler, David 
Neal, Otto Bacher, the late Robert Blum and others in those years. 
The portrait painter of our region is Miss Irene Parmelee, who has 
assured her lasting fame by her excellent portraits of Justice Justin 
Dewey, in the court house; Judge William S. Shurtleff in the 
probate court room; Henry S. Lee, and many more of prominent 
citizens. She divines character while she depicts likenesses, and 
her technical work is broad and strong. Among the elder land- 
scapists now is to be reckoned Edmund E. Case, faithful in his 
presentation of mountain brooks and forest interiors and also of 
the stern scenery of the north shore. Mr. Case and Miss Parmelee 
studied in Paris with noted masters. Joseph |. La Valley has grown 
close to Nature in his years of devotion to the brush, and he also 
paints with skill those still lite artificialities which are so much liked, 
and the fruits of each season. George N. Bowers has been indus- 
triously following art a long time; and loves the seashore; one of 
his truthful representations of Gay Head, Martha's Vineyard, with 
its colored clays, is properly placed on the walls of the Science 
museum, where there ought to be more such canvases to illustrate 
Nature's phases. Among other artists who have been associated 



58 Springfield Present and Prospective 

with the city may be named Henry H. Ahl, a native of Agawam, 
who studied in Munich; George S. Payne, Bertus P. Pietersz — who 
has gained repute in New York by his cattle pieces especially, — 
George Harrington and Luther Knight, the pansy painter. 

When John Cotton Dana was librarian of the City library, he 
entertained the notion of making the city a center of artistic indus- 
tries, by means of a yearly exhibition which should comprise the 
artists of the valley north and south, in crafts as well as in pictile and 
sculptural art — if indeed anything in that last line should ever be 
developed hereabouts. This would draw here as a common center 
the work of the Deerfield and Greenfield independent societies, 
painters like Augustus Vincent Tack, the great engraver and painter 
Elbridge Kingsley, and others. It must be hoped that this idea 
may yet be brought to fruition. 



CONCERNING Springfield on the side of letters, it may be said that 
a highly intelligent old society, growing less as time went on, had 
a certain old culture from the libraries, often small, but always choice, 
of books which had stood the test of trial in England. For a long 
time this culture gave a tone to the social gatherings, and it is but 
recently that this has markedly changed — before it had simply lin- 
gered, without development. We have now the culture of the great 
library, where everything can be obtained for reading, but where as 
a matter of fact it is not so much cultivation of the mind and exalta- 
tion of the soul that is the object of reading, as it is the acquirement 
of information. The Chautauqua idea is really dominant, and it 
develops a clear intelligence of facts without that old-fashioned train- 
ing of thought which resulted from acquaintance with masterpieces 
of literature, such as came over here from England in the days when 
we had no writers or publishers of anything except political pam- 
phlets and religious tracts, and all our literate furniture was of the 
greater and the lesser periods from the Elizabethan classics to the 
Restoration production. Then our forefathers and foremothers 
thought with the noble English version of the Bible, with Milton, 
with Bacon and Shakespeare, or with Addison and Pope, with 
Dryden and Goldsmith and Dean Swift. Such are the books that 
are found in the ancient collections. Later we had Scott and Burns, 



Springfield Present and Prospective 59 

Crabbe and Bloomfield, Young's "Night Thoughts" and Pollock's 
"Course of Time." Blair's "Grave," and the poems of James 
Montgomery; Cowper and Gray and the works of Flavius Josephus, 
"that learned jew." It was really a slur to call Josephus so, as if 
Jews were not vastly more learned than all the rest. But not to 
go further, it was from such meaty food that the thought of New 
England was developed, and in the little Pynchon settlement of 
Springfield as elsewhere. 

Now we have many a club, of women or of men, who are esteemed 
to have a literary outlook on life; and indeed their number is so 
great that it is impossible that some intellectual result should not 
come from all these admirable voluntary associations, with the rich 
treasures of the city library to draw from. But they read Browning 
and Tennyson, Walt Whitman and Emerson; or in prose still 
Emerson, and also Thoreau; Herbert Spencer is read more than 
Kant or Hegel, sometimes Aristotle or even Plato is ventured on; 
and John Fiske or Edward Bellamy is endeavored. Thus we get 
more serious year by year. Still it can not be said that Springfield 
has developed a true literary or philosophical society. It waits for 
the fusion of diverse elements. 

It is well to turn from this general consideration to the history of 
letters in the city and its vicinity, which is necessarily the record of 
those individuals who have themselves formed or represented litera- 
ture. 

In letters, as in arts, the possession of Springfield is in the labors 
of those who have come here, rather than from those who were born 
here. But that is the fact with relation to the great centers of litera- 
ture. What was London in Elizabeth's day but a field that received 
Shakespeare, Marlowe, Jonson, and their peers ? What has New 
York been, or Boston ? though the Hub has had more native growths 
than most other cities, especially in the old days. Even Concord 
had few native authors, perhaps none besides Thoreau, for Emerson, 
Hawthorne, Sanborn, Alcott, the other famous men of Concord, 
were all born elsewhere — Emerson in Boston, Hawthorne in Maine, 
Sanborn in New Hampshire, Alcott in Connecticut. They were all 
immigrants so far as Concord was concerned. So why should Spring- 
field differ? As Schiller expressed it in one of his parables: 
It was the mountain springs that fed 
The fair green plain's amenities. 



6o Springfield Present and Prospective 

Our first literary work was by the original immigrant, the pioneer 
and founder, William Pynchon; and it may be too much to class 
"The Meritorious Price of Man's Redemption" with real literature, 
for assuredly Charles Lamb would have put it among his "Biblia a 
biblia" — books which are no books. Yet it hit a psychologic mo- 
ment, and was burned in Boston by the Puritan authorities, though 
its heresy was small in proportion to what has been thought since. 
It was Springfield's first distinction in the way of opinion, and it 
made the settlement of Agawam famous in England for a short time. 
The "Simple Cobbler of Aggawam," also famous in England, was 
not of this locality; he belonged to the Pennacook region, for "Aga- 
wam" was a common Algonquin word. 

Literature in this community really began with the Springfield 
Republican, long the most famous institution of the town, which 
early devoted columns and pages to that phase of human life, and 
gradually enlisted the services of many a writer afterward noted, and 
some eminent. The first of Springfield's essentially literary figures 
was josiah Gilbert Holland, who was born in Belchertown, but here 
entered upon his career as moralist, novelist and poet. His local 
historical romance of the Puritan days, "The Bay Path" was written 
here; and here also he made that characteristic New England poem, 
"Bittersweet," centering in the Thanksgiving feast; and the idyl of 
"Kathrina," by "the winding and willow-fringed Connecticut." It 
was as an editor of the Republican that he began his essential calling 
as preacher, especially seen in his three series of "Timothy Titcomb" 
letters to young folks, which were rather of moral than literary merit; 
and for that paper he wrote his " History of Western Massachusetts," 
the first efl^ort at the subject since Hubbard made his collections. 
Also he wrote "Letters to the Joneses" and "Gold Foil," — all ad- 
vices as to the conduct of life which were wholesome, and did much 
good among the class of people for whom they were meant. Nor 
should it be forgotten that Doctor Holland wrote the first "Life of 
Abraham Lincoln," to appear after the great man's death, — a tri- 
umph of real newspaper enterprise and rushing labor, and notwith- 
staridintr errors from insufficient knowledge, still an interestinsr book. 
Holland's second novel, "Miss Gilbert's Career," deserves a place 
among novels truly illustrative of old Massachusetts life; it gave us 
one character, "Cheek" the stage driver; and one word, "jasm," 




JUDGE WILLIAM S. SHURTLEFF 

From a Painting by Miss Irene Parmelee 




J OS I AH (;. HOLLAND 

From a tablet in the Springfield Cemetery 




The Holland Homestead m Brtghtwood 







-« 

t^ 



Springfield Present and Prospective 6i 

which expresses the inexpressible personal force of the Yankee. The 
subsequent career of Doctor Holland, as editor of Scribner's Monthly 
(since become the Century), his addition of several novels to the list 
of fiction, "Sevenoaks" the best, his further poems, and his growth 
into an authoritative place; — in all these Springfield may take a just 
share of pride. 

But while Holland first definitely brought to the Republican that 
literary flavor which became an irrefragable tradition, the determin- 
ing force was Samuel Bowles, the master-mind that set the model 
for concise and pointed newspaper writing, with proportion, without 
waste, which other and metropolitan journals have followed m such 
degree as they may. He also gave to the day's literature, at the time 
when they were needed, the first books about the great West, jour- 
ne\'ing to the Pacific coast bv stasje and producing "Across the Con- 
tinent, "The Parks of Colorado," "Our New West" and "The 
Pacific Railroad — Open." But his calling was not that of letters, — 
he had his own work to do, and in the course of it introduced to their 
first public a good many notable persons, such as Bret Harte, who 
signed his California letters "F. B. H."; the humorist "John Paul," 
who under his proper name of Charles Henry Webb wrote two 
choice volumes of lyrics — the last, "With Lead and Line," contain- 
ing several stirring verses which first appeared in the Republican; 
Rose Terry Cooke, a writer of New England general stories worthy 
to rank with Mrs. Stowe's, and far better than Miss Wilkins ever 
wrote; Julia D. Whiting, in the same class and level; "Octave 
Thanet" (Miss French), an excellent story-teller; Katharine Lee 
Bates, professor in Wellesley college; Edwin Morton, a remarkable 
but too reticent poet; the scholarly essayist, A. W. Stevens; and so 
many more that the list would become tedious. 

One of the most remarkable men of letters who began his career 
on the Republican staff was Edward King, the Parisian, who was 
born in Middlefield, the son of a Methodist minister of the same 
name. He came to Springfield a youth of seventeen, went to Paris 
as correspondent of the Republican, at the exposition of 1867, and 
wrote that brilliant book of sketches of life called "My Paris." He 
made the journey of the southern states for Scribner's Monthly, and 
his articles were gathered into "The New South." His novels in- 
clude "Helen Bell," "A Gentle Savage," "Kentucky's Love" and 



62 SprtngfieU Present and Prospective 

"Joseph Zalmonah," and his poems "Echoes from the Orient" and 
"A Venetian Lover" — and he wrote the interesting book, "Europe 
in Storm and Calm," which Charles A. Nichols published twenty 
years ago. Because for so many 3'ears King was a well-known 
figure here, and for the fact that his earl}- life was of the contributive 
countryside, it is well to recall so much of the life of a brilliant and 
too early vanishing man of real talent. He died in New York in 
1896. 

Among the authors native to Springfield especially noteworthy 
was the late David Ames Wells, grandson of Col. David Ames, whose 
fame as political economist, statistician and sociologist is more than 
national. He was both born and bred here, and never lost touch with 
his birthplace. His son, David Dwight Wells, was born in Norwich, 
Ct.; his untimely death cut short a career as novelist of unusual 
promise. Also born in the town, and still resident here, is an author 
of rare and beautiful gifts, both literary and spiritual. George Spring 
Merriam, in his "Life and Times of Samuel Bowles," produced one 
of the few absolutely truthful of personal biographies, linked to the 
story of the nation. His distinctive writings have chiefly concerned 
the life of the soul, from the volume entitled "A Living Faith," 
through that finer treatise, "The Way of Life," the chronicle of 
"William and Lucv Smith" (honoring the author of "Thorndale" 
as he deserved), the personal memoir of Mrs. Briggs and the choice 
anthology entitled "A Symphony of the Spirit." To these he has 
lately added "The Story of Slavery in America" — an admirable 
survey of the striking moral advance of the nation to the ending of 
human chattelry, wrought with optimistic view of the future. 

There have been many clever writers of fiction, of whom note 
must be made of Adeline Trafton (Mrs. Samuel Knox), who wrote 
here "His Inheritance," "Katherine Earle," and other novels and 
records; and of Mrs. Katharine B. Foot, whose excellent short 
stories, "Tilda," "Marcia's Fortunes," "An Orphan in Japan," 
and others are to be published in a volume. Edward Bellamy, son 
of Rev. Rufus K. Bellamy, a noted minister of Chicopee Falls, here 
wrote, besides many exquisite short stories in the school of Haw- 
thorne, that extraordinary book, "Looking Backward," which gave 
so great an impetus to the gospel of socialism by its Utopia, the 
Boston of the year 2000. His brother, Charles J. Bellamy, is the 



Springfield Present and Prospective 63 

author of certain interesting novels and other books, "The Breton 
Mills," "A Man of Business" and "The Return of the Fairies." 

Poetry of genuine quality has not been lacking in the contribu- 
tions to the newspapers and magazines, here and elsewhere, from 
Springfield citizens, but to begin to name the writers of these, or of 
sketches and tales, would be a Kash essay. If there be mention made 
of Aella Greene, Christopher C. Merritt and Mrs. Frances H. Cooke, 
that will have to be the end. 

Much worthy historical writing has been done, by George Bliss, 
the first and second; by Judge Oliver B. Morris and Judge Henry 
Morris his son; by Col. John L. Rice and Judge Alfred M. Copeland, 
and by Judge William Steele ShurtlefF. Colonel ShurtlefF indeed 
had a marked literary bent and taste, and wrote much verse of 
refined and fluent grace, while he personally encouraged the life of 
letters and arts. Several veterans of the civil war have written regi- 
mental histories of value, among them James L. Bowen, W. P. 
Derby and J. K. Newell. Mason A. Green wrote a history of 
Springfield in connection with the 250th anniversary in 1886, and 
Charles A. Nichols published it. Mr. Green's study of the early 
history of the town, and into the first part of the 19th century, is 
valuable and full of attractive quality. But to simply name the 
books that have been produced in Springfield — well worthy of com- 
ment as well as mention — would require more than our limit of 
space. 

One of the interesting and individual figures of our local life 
for years has been Eugene C. Gardner, whose essay on Springfield 
as it is and may be begins this book. He was one of the first to 
make literature out of house-building, and with that, of housekeep- 
ing. The fresh, vigorous and cordial impact of his early books on 
these subjects, treated at once from the architect's and the house- 
holder's standpoint, is not forgotten. And ever since he began 
with the chronicles of "John" — in fact, of "Jack and Jill," — he has 
been writing delightful critiques on everything pertaining to Spring- 
field. His books are numerous; they include "Homes and How to 
Make Them." "Illustrated Homes," "Home Interiors," "The 
House that Jill Built," "Town and Country Schoolhouses," "Com- 
mon Sense in Church Building." Mr. Gardner is a satirist and a 
humorist, with a poetic feeling. 




SAMUEL BOWLES 



Springfield Prt'setit and Prospective 65 

be said that Charles Goodrich Whiting's two books of Nature and 
the Spirit, "The Saunterer" and "Walks in New England," are 
made up chiefly from the editorial and literary columns of the Repub- 
lican. In the later years many remarkable contributions have been 
made to true literature bv such contributors as the north of Ireland 
singer, Moses Teggart; and the noble poet, Stuart Sterne, whose 
name in common life was Gertrude Bloede. And in the line of 
scientific philosophy there are seldom to be found so remarkable 
and masterly writings as those of Dr. Chester T. Stockwell, "The 
Evolution of Immortality" and "New Methods of Thought." 
These are leadmg the way to a spiritual examination and ideal of 
eternal spiritual life. There is no nobler utterance in this direction 
to be found in American or English literature. 

Springfield has had its literary periodicals, and among them 
there are three which for one cause or another require especial 
mention. The first of these was Sunday Afternoon, begun by Rev. 
Washington Gladden, when he was pastor of the North church, and 
continued by Edward F. Merriam. It was an original scheme of 
sociologlc thought which animated it, and much of high quality in 
the furtherance of elevated ideals was embodied in its editorial con- 
duct and its contributions. Conceptions of service to humanity 
then freshly broached had voice in Sunday Afternoon; Mrs. Clara 
T. Leonard gave to it some of the most important of her too few 
writings, and indeed the table of contents, were it to be reprinted, 
would show that there was not a little opportunity afforded for the 
literary life of this city, if there were such, to exhibit itself. 

Thebriefcareerof Sunday Afternoon found no following until Will 
Bradley came here, a really brilliant designer of strange grotesqueries, 
akin in one way to that abnormal creature, Aubrey Beardsley, who 
became a London favorite, but unlike Beardsley merely grotesque, 
not vile. Bradley had good magazine ideas, and while "Will Brad- 
ley: His Book," in its brief existence, failed of success, it produced 
a real sensation. Its literary features, under the editorial charge of 
Julia D. Whiting, possessed originality and a high intellectual poise, 
but life was not in it. 

The present magazine, Good Housekeeping, has passed through 
vicissitudes; Clark W. Bryan made it interesting for a while; others 



66 Springfield Present and Prospccti 



ve 



assumed its management; but now, published by the Phelps com- 
pany, and edited by James E. Tower, with his fine literary taste, it 
is an excellent magazine of the household. 

Among the remarkable men who have distinguished the Spring- 
field Republican should be mentioned two who possess in common 
an incisive and trenchant personal power of expression on all topics 
which they touched, — the late William S. Robinson, "Warrington," 
who chose that pen name from the friend of " Pendennis" in Thack- 
eray's novel, — a strenuous character; and Frank B. Sanborn, Boston 
literary and political correspondent for many years, — a radical of 
the radicals, a man who, in Hosea Biglow's words, "ain't afeard." 
He has given salt and spice to life by his commentary on affairs, 
while his great scholarl}' equipment has constanth- enriched the 
criticism of that journal for over thirty years. 

Charles Goodrich Whiting 



City Library Association 

JUST half a century ago, twelve hundred citizens petitioned for 
the establishment of a public library. But the city govern- 
ment, which was then facing heavy expenditures for the new 
city hall, delayed action. Two years later, in 1857, some of 
the citizens, too earnest to be balked longer in their project, 
formed a voluntary association "to establish and maintain a public 
library in the city of Springfield accessible to all persons," and ob- 
tained the use of a room in the new city hall. This was the humble 
beginning of the present City Library association which after fifty 
years of surprising growth — due to the same intelligent and liberal 
spirit that animated its early promoters — today occupies the three 
large buildings on State street dedicated respectively to literature, 
art, and science, and fills so important a place in the intellectual 
life of the community. 

From the start the association was fortunate in winning the sup- 
port of the most broad-minded and influential citizens. The con- 
spicuous achievement of the librarian to whom "more than to any 




ly)JyUj.^(ju 




Sprmgfield Present and Prospective 6? 

man living or dead, this community is indebted for the priceless 
advantages afforded by our institution,"* as well as the devotion of 
the early officers, are fittingly summarized on a bronze tablet in the 
library entrance: 

"This building erected in 1871 on land given by George Bliss with 
money contributed by Springfield citizens stimulated by the zeal of John L. 
King and Daniel L. Harris, the first two presidents of the City Library 
Association, was by vote of the directors May 10, 1892, named 

THE WILLIAM RICE BUILDING 

in honor of the man who as librarian from 1 861 to 1897 devoted thirty-six 
years of enthusiastic service to his native city in the development of a great 
educational institution for the free use of all the people." 

Land, buildings, museum collections, and books, with endow- 
ments of one hundred and sixty thousand dollars, all contributed 
by private citizens, today amount in value to upward of one million 
dollars. This property the association, which is incorporated, holds 
in trust for the people of Springfield. The cost of maintenance is 
borne by the city, which makes an annual appropriation of about 
^38,500; and this, with the receipts from endowments and other 
sources, gives a yearly income of nearly $50,000. 

The library — among the oldest and largest public libraries in 
I he country — contains 136,000 volumes. But figures mean little. 
One must work daily as a student among the shelves lined with 
books to realize the wealth there garnered. No city in the country 
the size of Springfield has a public library collection approaching 
it in value. Few cities of any size take so genuine a pride or so 
active an interest in their library, contribute for its support from 
both public and private sources so generously, and in return expect 
and enjoy so large a use of its treasures. 

The control of the association is vested in a board of directors 
whose policy is conspicuous for liberality toward the public. The 
reading-room is kept open every day in the year, and the reference 
collection from nine in the morning till nine at night every day 
except the Fourth of July and Christmas. The public have the freest 
access to the shelves in all parts of the library except the medical 
section, browsing at will and helping themselves to books. Instead 



♦President's Report, 1895. 



68 Springfield Present and Prospective 

of one volume at a time, in Springfield each card-holder may 
borrow one volume of fiction and any reasonable number of other 
works. "Reasonable number" is construed liberally, and students 
requiring books for purposes of serious scholarship have borrowed 
eighty or a hundred volumes, retaining them by renewal indefinitely, 
though in such cases books are subject to recall if wanted by other 
persons. In summer, readers draw a half-dozen or a dozen books 
and keep them several months. If a book asked for is out, the reader 
may have it reserved for his use when returned to the library. 
From six to eight thousand dollars is spent annually for books, and 
every serious request for books not owned receives prompt considera- 
tion, and the books are usually bought or else borrowed from other 
libraries. Thus the whole book resources of the country are practi- 
cally at the command of any student in Springfield. 

The library is free to all residents, even temporary residents, 
and to non-residents employed in the city. Other persons may use 
books in the building, and by paying the purely nominal fee of a 
dollar per year may borrow them for home use. 

As a result of the liberal policy pursued, a large portion of the 
population are registered as card-holders, and the annual circulation 
amounts to nearly 350,000 volumes, a use per capita that is seldom 
equalled in cities of the same or greater size. Another result is 
that not a few university professors and literary workers spend their 
summers in or near Springfield, attracted partly by the valuable 
collection of books, but chiefly by the freedom with which they may 
be used. 

Not only are English readers provided for, but the foreign ele- 
ments in the population receive consideration. French, Germans, 
Swedes, and Poles borrow books in their own languages, while the 
Yiddish books that have been recently added are extensively read. 

The modern public library is not content with merely serving 
such readers as come to it, but resorts to branches, delivery stations, 
traveling libraries and other means of getting the books to the 
people. The old proverb has been revised by somebody to read, 
"a book in the hand is worth two in the stack." In Springfield the 
distributing system includes branches in the Forest park district 
and in the manufacturing village of Indian Orchard and two hundred 
and forty-four other distributing agencies such as classrooms in the 



Springfield Present and Prospective 69 

schools, fire engine houses, various Sunday schools, women's clubs, 
church clubs, settlement houses, and similar organizations, to which 
traveling libraries of fifty or a hundred volumes each are sent. In 
addition, to households paying eight and one-third cents weekly 
the library delivers books at the door. Information about what the 
library offers is disseminated by numerous printed lists on special 
subjects; by a bulletin with library news, notes on books, and lists 
of current accessions, published monthly; and by descriptions of 
new books as soon as they are ready for circulation printed weekly 
in three newspapers. 

A large and attractive room lined with carefully-chosen books 
and adorned with beautiful pictures and casts, swarms with children 
who form nearly a third of the library's clientage. In charge is a 
children's librarian, especially trained for this work, who with a 
corps of enthusiastic assistants welcomes the children, aids them in 
the selection of their books, and strives to inculcate a love of good 
reading. Schools and library cooperate in teaching the children the 
resources of the library and the use of catalogues and reference 
books, that as these young persons grow up they may become intelli- 
gent users of the best the library offers. 

In a city with so large a proportion of well-educated people there 
naturally exist many women's clubs — and men's also — devoted to 
study and mutual improvement. With these clubs as most active 
agencies in promoting general culture and stimulating intellectual 
progress, the library is heartily in sympathy; and it aids them in the 
selection of books, in the preparation of programs when desired, 
and not infrequently by issuing printed lists on special subjects. 

The commercial interests of the city are by no means neglected. 
Books on banking and exchange, on business and advertising, 
various trade publications and financial papers are provided, as 
well as business and city directories and a collection of the standard 
cable codes. Particular efforts are made to assist the young working- 
men who in increasing numbers seek books on their trades. Up-to- 
date works, including text-books issued by the correspondence 
schools, are supplied on architecture and building, machinery, 
electricity, carpentry, steamfitting, locomotives, boilers, mechanical 
drawing, printing — in fact on any industry about which the em- 
ployees ask for information. To promote this use, various lists of 



70 Springfield Present and Prospective 

the best books on particular trades, selected with the advice of 
experts, have been printed and distributed among the artisans. 

The art department is unusually strong, and besides costly books 
includes photographs and other reproductions of the masterpieces 
of painting, sculpture and architecture. There is also a wealth of 
illustrative material for designers of laces, carpets and other textiles, 
wall papers, book covers, stained glass, furniture, and similar objects 
of industrial an. A recent endowment insures a good collection of 
wood engravings, and there is a growing collection of music scores. 

The reading-room is always well filled with readers. Four hun- 
dred periodicals are received currently, including representative 
newspapers from the United States, England and Canada. In this 
room also there is absence of all unnecessary formality, and the 
reader helps himself freely from the shelves around the walls where 
are found both current and back numbers. 

It is seldom that the annual report of the association does not 
record some important bequest, and under the leadership of Mr. 
Nathan D. Bill, the president, the citizens of Springfield have, within 
four years contributed, largely for the purchase of additional land, 
over $40,000. Endowments have been received for the purchase of 
books in history, biography, and travel, industrial art, natural 
history, reference work, English literature, and dental science. 
The late librarian, Doctor Rice, endowed the department of theology, 
providing generously books for the clergy, Bible students, and 
Sunday school teachers, with the result that the use of the library 
by these classes is general. The David A, Wells fund, the largest 
single endowment, yields annually $2,000 for general purposes and 
an equal amount for the purchase of books on "economic, fiscal, 
and social science subjects." The collection of genealogies and 
New England local histories, though not endowed, deserves especial 
mention because it is unusually extensive and is in constant use 
by genealogists, members of patriotic societies, and historical stu- 
dents. In the building are deposited also the collections of the 
Connecticut Valley Historical society. 

Besides the commoner bibliographical aids the library owns the 
great card index issued by the Concilium Bibliographicum at Zurich, 
which catalogues all the literature of zoology and allied subjects — ■ 
both books and periodical articles, English and foreign — issued 




NATHAN D. BILL 




Co 



Springfield Present and Prospective 71 

during the past decade. The Springfield library is said to be the 
only subscriber in New England to the complete set of cards, which 
is a bibliographical tool of high value to scientists. 

After the remarkable development of the past half century, it is 
not surprising that the library has entirely outgrown its present 
building. New quarters are now assured through the munificence 
of Mr. Andrew Carnegie, who has contributed for the purpose 
$150,000. The directors of the association are giving careful study 
to the problem of securing a substantial building, architecturally 
beautiful, in harmony with the museums, commodious, and in 
every way worthy of the noble library it is to house. The art museum 
with its hall of sculpture and the magnificent George Walter Vincent 
Smith collections of industrial art are described elsewhere. Under the 
will of the late James P. Gray, the association will in time receive 
more than half a million dollars to endow a gallery of paintings. 

The museum of natural history is in a separate building erected 
in 1899 at a cost of $30,000. At the entrance one of the first objects 
to catch the eye of the visitor is a fine basaltic column from the 
Giants' Causeway. Near by is a huge cross section from the elm 
that excited the admiration of the "Autocrat of the Breakfast 
Table" who wrote, "The queen of them all is that glorious tree 
near one of the churches in Springfield. Beautiful and stately she 
is beyond all praise." In a large room at the left with graceful 
colonial furniture is the Catharine L. Howard memorial library of 
science — a laboratory collection of reference books. 

In the rear is the main hall, 125 feet long, containing the collec- 
tions of natural history. Minerals, geology, botany, shells, insects, 
birds, birds' eggs, sponges, corals, mammals, and other subjects, are 
represented b}' exhibits carefully classified and attractively arranged. 
The large basement is not used for exhibition purposes but contains 
duplicate material and study collections. 

Naturally especial emphasis is laid on exhibits illustrating local 
conditions, such as the Samuel Colton Booth collection of local 
minerals, the Luman Andrews herbarium of local flora, and the 
Robert M. Wallace collection of birds. Unusual exhibits have been 
given by Mr. George S. Lewis, Jr., illustrating the cocoanut palm, 
varieties of Indian corn, vegetable fibres, and their multiform com- 
mercial uses. Besides the classified collections for scientific study. 



72 Springfield Present and Prospective 

there are nearly a score of groups, given by Mr. Gurdon Bill, show- 
ing varieties of birds and some common quadrupeds like the muskrat 
and fox in reproductions of their natural environment. Mr. Nathan 
D. Bill has also given among many other things two notable groups, 
one showing the male, female and young of the elk among the logs, 
leaves, and moss of their native forest, the other representing a 
family of bison set on a bit of the open prairie. These exhibits do 
much to stimulate popular interest. The rooms on the second floor 
contain colonial and Indian relics, the latter a large collection of 
especial value since the stone implements with few exceptions were 
found in the vicinity of Springfield. 

The museum is not simply a show place or intended merely for 
the edification of casual visitors, but is active in fostering scientific 
study. Loan collections for nature study are sent to the schools, and 
at stated times classes accompanied by teachers inspect the speci- 
mens in the museum. From time to time prizes are offered to the 
pupil making the best collection and study of certain insects or 
minerals, and in this work the children are taken on long nature 
rambles. Special exhibits show the birds and wild flowers when they 
appear each season. 

To persons making a more advanced pursuit of science the 
museum is most hospitable, and affords a meeting place for the 
geological, botanical, and zoological clubs of the city. Under the 
museum's auspices an old Indian steatite quarry at Wilbraham was 
excavated, and soapstone bowls with the trap implements used in 
making them were gathered, illustrating in a very complete way an 
Indian industry of the stone age. To this has recently been added 
a large and valuable collection of Indian baskets, many over a 
century old, representing another branch of industry. 

It has been possible to sketch but a few of the activities of the 
library and allied museums. Adequate knowledge of the extent 
and wealth of the collections, literary, artistic, and scientific, enjoyed 
by the residents of Springfield can be gained only from actual use. 
But for a majority of the people description is not necessary. They 
own and support these institutions, and that they understand and 
appreciate their value is shown by the two thousand visitors who 
throng the different departments daily. 

HiLLER C. WeLLMAN 




> 






Cj 






MVSIC-AMD 
TliE-DRAMA 





PRINGFIELD has been rather fortunate musically in 
its position halfway between New York and Boston, 
not near enough to either to be reduced to servile sub- 
ordination, and yet convenient enough to both to make 
it easy and natural for good attractions to visit the city. 
In the number and quality of the operas, symphony concerts, recitals, 
and miscellaneous musical entertainments that are offered, it is to be 
rated among the more favored of the smaller American communities, 
and these advantages are an appreciable factor in its attractiveness 
as a place of residence. It is the natural musical center of western 
Massachusetts, and the spread of a network of electric roads has in 
recent years greatly extended the population upon which it draws 
for the more important events, both musical and dramatic. On the 
other hand the music lovers of Springfield can considerably extend 
their opportunities by an easy trip to Northampton, sixteen miles to 
the north, or Hartford, twenty-five miles to the south, in both of 
which cities first-rate concerts are to be heard. 

It would perhaps be excessive to speak of Springfield as a musical 
city. As in other American communities, the mass of the population 
has not yet been brought to the point of taking an interest in the art, 
and that the general standard has been kept so high is due to the 
enthusiasm and sacrifices of a comparatively small number of persons. 
Nor has Springfield been at all noted for its contributions to musical 
art. It has given to the world no musician of national reputation — 
no distinguished composer, singer or instrumental performer. It 
has not been specially distinguished for the number or talents of its 
amateurs. It is the home of no important school of music, nor has 



74 Springfield Present and Prospective 

any single personal influence been strongly stamped upon its musical 
life. That musical lite is what might be expected of a predomi- 
nantly American commumt)', not exposed to any of these special 
influences, but favorably situated and intelligent and appreciative 
enough to take advantage of its opportunities. Like other communi- 
ties in which the Puritan strain prevails, it has approached music 
from the side of religion and of general culture rather than from the 
side of aesthetics or of instinctive craving. The standards have been 
kept high for the reason that even those who are not by nature musi- 
cal are intelligent enough to appreciate the difference between the 
best and the second best, and to sustain the best as an invaluable 
instrument of culture. 

The two great facts in the musical history of Springfield, the 
things that have rather distinguished it among the cities of its class, 
are the Orpheus club and the Music Festival. These have served 
both to stimulate local interest and make sure of opportunities for 
hearing the best artists in the country, thus setting from the very be- 
ginning a high standard of technical skill. The Orpheus club, to 
take the older organization first, was founded in 1873 as a men's 
chorus, its first leader being the late Louis Coenen, a talented Dutch 
violinist of a noted musical family, who had come to Boston as a 
young man and after playing for a time in orchestras had settled in 
Springfield as a teacher. There had of course been choral societies 
before that, but the present sketch concerns only existing conditions, 
and the Orpheus club is the earliest organization that has survived 
the stress of years. It perhaps achieved the height of its success 
under the leadership of Mr. Sumner, an exceptionally popular musi- 
cian whose death was a serious blow. After his death it was con- 
ducted for a number of years by E. W. Cutter of Boston, and for a 
brief time by the composer Horatio W. Parker of New Haven. Its 
uncertain fortunes revived when in 1895 John J. Bishop, a Spring- 
field organist who had had experience as a choir leader, and the 
director of a small chorus of his own, took charge, and although its 
existence has from time to time been threatened, it has weathered its 
thirty-second season successfully, and is looking forward to a larger 
field of usefulness. 

By its original plan the Orpheus club was a male chorus, limited 
in membership, and with social as well as musical features. Its 




'7ii- 



7 







Foiiiitiini rni CoutI Srjtiine, sl.wwitii; Theatre in Backgnjinul 



Springfield Present and Prospective 75 

conceits were open only to its associate members, who subscribed to 
a certain number of tickets for the season, and those concerts long 
held a central place in the musical year. As other lines of musical 
activity were developed, the Orpheus concerts naturally became 
relatively less important, and the club had the experience of most 
male choruses that have had to compete with increasing!)' rich and 
varied music of other sorts. Some years ago the experiment was 
made of adding an auxiliary chorus of women, and although more 
lately the original plan was reverted to, it is now the intention to have 
both men's and women's voices, and to vary the male choruses with 
cantatas and other lighter works for mixed voices, leaving the orato- 
rios and other heavier choral works for the larger festival chorus. 
The tickets for the separate concerts have also during the past year 
been thrown open to the public, so that the Orpheus club is likely 
to be in the future an even more influential musical agent than it has 
been in the past. It has been noted for the loyalty of its membership, 
and it still contains several of its original members, among them 
Henry F. Trask, who has from the beginning been its president, and 
has been one of the most notable figures in the musical life of the 
city. A feature of the season of the club is its annual banquet, of 
which much is made. 

The club formerly gave four concerts a year, but since its mem- 
bers have been concerned in the festivals the number has been re- 
duced to two. They were always given in the city hall till that was 
burned, and will hereafter be given in the high school hall until that 
proves inadequate. The programs are composed usually of a brief 
cantata with lighter compositions for chorus, and three or four solo 
numbers by some singer or violinist of ability. The club has made 
something of a reputation for its luck in finding talented young artists 
who have since become stars, and engaging them while they could 
still be had for a not impossible price. These concerts have been of 
great value to the city, both by bringing musicians of ability at a 
time when opportunities to hear good performers were infrequent, 
and by stimulating an interest in chorus singing. On the orchestral 
side it has done nothing, though in recent years a small orchestra has 
sometimes been engaged when the program included a cantata of 
some pretensions. 



76 Springfield Present and Prospective 

The Music Festival, which is the most important musical enter- 
prise that Springfield has undertaken, dates back to 1889, although 
in the sixteen years intervening it has been under three different 
managements, and in one year (1900) there was no festival at all. 
The first organization was the Hampden County musical association, 
which gave eleven festivals, from 1889 to 1899. But the association 
itself goes a little further back than this, for in 1887 it was organized 
and gave three concerts in the course of the season. The first concert 
was a performance of "The Messiah," December 26, 1887, with a 
chorus of three hundred, and the Germania orchestra of twenty-six 
players from Boston. The soloists were Mme. Blanche Stone- 
Barton, soprano, Miss Hattie J. Clapper, contralto, Theodore J. 
Toedt, tenor, and D. M. Babcock, bass. The season closed April 
3, 1888, with a performance of "The Creation." On the program 
of the first concert of the second season, "The Messiah" being given 
again December 25, 1888, was the announcement that: "The Hamp- 
den County musical association will give, if sufficient encouragement 
is offered by the residents of the city and county, a series of concerts 
for three consecutive days in May next, and will endeavor to make 
them equal in quality and performance to those of the famous Worces- 
ter festivals." 

This promise was carried out, and the first festival — the most 
important date in the musical history of the city, was held in city hall 
May 6, 7, and 8, 1889. There were two conductors, Frederick 
Zuchtmann, a German teacher of music in the city, who had been 
influential in organizing the chorus, and Carl Zerrahn, who was at 
that time the foremost choral conductor of Boston, and also con- 
ducted the Worcester festivals. The board of government upon 
which responsibility for the festival devolved was as follows: Presi- 
dent, Orlando M. Baker; vice-president. Rev. George H. Griffin; 
secretary, Thomas W. Coburn; treasurer, Thomas H. Stock; libra- 
rian, Benjamin F. Saville; directors, George A. Russell, J. S. Webber, 
W. E. Wright, Dr. W. H. Chapin, Varnum N. Taylor, F. E. Tuttle, 
E. Porter Dyer, and Thomas L. Cushman. Mr. Saville, upon 
whom a large share of the executive burden fell in this and following 
years, had come to Springfield from Worcester where he had been 
connected with the management of the famous festivals held in that 
city, and this experience was of great value. Both in essentials and 
in details the Worcester model was followed very closely. 



Springfield Present and Prospective 77 

The chorus at this first festival numbered two hundred and 
seventy-six, and the newly-organized Boston Festival orchestra 
formed out of the Germania by George W. Stewart, who was quick 
to see the field opened by the growth of the festival idea, numbered 
forty. Its leader was Max Bendix, whose place was taken in the 
following year by Emil Mollenhauer. The first 'cellist in the orches- 
tra was Victor Herbert, of whom the public apparently could not 
get enough, as he appeared twice as soloist in the course of the festi- 
val. This was the longest festival undertaken, six concerts being 
given in the three da}'s. They were chiefly miscellaneous, the only 
choral works presented being "Elijah" and Rossini's "Moses in 
Egypt." It was a great occasion, and Miss Emma Juch was the 
star among more good singers than the public had. before been 
privileged to hear at one time. 

The second festival was notable for the fact that G. W. Chadwick 
of Boston, who was already noted as a composer, was engaged as 
conductor, a post which he held till the lapse of the association in 
1899. Victor Herbert was engaged as assistant conductor, but at 
the third festival Mr. Chadwick stood alone, and after that Mr. 
Mollenhauer was always assistant conductor so long as that orchestra 
was used. The festival was fairly prosperous for a half-dozen years 
or so, and while it was not intended to make it profitable, the deficits 
were slight. The policy of engaging the most famous "stars" was 
adopted to arouse the interest of the public when it began to lag, 
and the festival audiences were given a chance to hear the reigning 
favorites of the opera — Mmes. Eames, Nordica and Melba, with 
Calve as a climax of expensiveness. The plan in the end proved 
unprofitable, and the association was crushed under an accumulating 
burden of debt. The cost of the festival was further increased in 
1897 by the engagement of the players from the Boston Symphony 
orchestra who had long been serving the Worcester festival. That 
was the disastrous Calve year, and although for the next festival a pol- 
icy of severe retrenchment was adopted, it was too late. The excite- 
ment of the Spanish war made it difficult in 1898 to arouse interest in 
the moribund festival. The association did not dissolve after the festi- 
val of 1899, which resulted in further loss, but it remained in a state 
of suspended animation from which it never emerged. 



Springfield Present and Prospective 



There was no festival in igoo, and in 1901 Charles S. Cornell, a 
Holyoke music teacher, seeing that the field remained open, organ- 
ized the Springfield Oratorio society, which gave two festivals on a 
smaller scale in 1901 and 1902. The Boston Festival orchestra 
was engaged, and Mr. Cornell organized a chorus of three hundred 
singers which lacked the experience needed to reach the standard of 
choral singing to which the city had been accustomed. The second 
festival resulted in a disastrous failure, and the field was taken by 
the Springfield Music Festival association, under whose management 
the festivals are still given. 

This association was formed by a small group of representative 
people of the city who had made up their minds to put the festival 
upon a firmer basis than in the past. A guaranty fund for a period 
of five years was subscribed, and it was decided to make the Orpheus 
club the nucleus of the festival forces and to put the conduct of the 
festival in the hands of the Orpheus leader, John J. Bishop. Thus 
the function of the festival association is that of a supporting body. 
The Orpheus club is enlarged for the festival into a chorus of over 
two hundred, and is assisted by the Boston Festival orchestra, Mr. 
Mollenhauer acting as assistant leader. The first festival of the 
new association was given in April, 1903, the principal works given 
being Sullivan's "Golden Legend" and H. W. Parker's "Hora 
Novissima." In 1904 Verdi's "Aida" was presented in concert 
form, and in 1905 the Verdi Requiem was the chief work. The 
festivals are shorter than were those of the Hampden County asso- 
ciation, the maximum thus far being four concerts, but the standard 
of performance has been sustained, though high-priced stars have 
not been engaged. 

For orchestral music Springfield has until quite recently been 
obliged to depend upon the festival, which for the first time assured 
the public at least a taste of symphonic music. In the older days 
there were occasional concerts by Theodore Thomas' orchestra, the 
Boston Symphony orchestra, or such less permanent organizations 
as those of Anton Seidl and Walter Damrosch. The usual result, 
however, was a loss that discouraged similar ambitions for a number 
of years. The festival has undoubtedly done much to stimulate an 
interest in orchestral music, and a few years ago the Boston Sym- 
phony orchestra was so well received that an annual feature was made 




GEORGE W . C H A D W I C K 



Springfield Present and Prospective 79 

first of one concert and then of two. These concerts are the most 
important events of the year aside from the spring music festival, 
and draw large numbers of music lovers from other towns. Bv an 
easy trip to Northampton and Hartford six Boston S3'mphon3' orches- 
tra concerts are at the disposal of the Springfield public each season. 

Springfield does not as vet support a local svmphonv orchestra 
such as New Haven and Hartford enjoy, though music lovers have 
hopes that this will come within a few years. There have been 
many promising beginnings, but most of them have not received 
enough support to encourage a continuance. In the '70s and '80s 
the chief mover in this form of musical activity was the late Louis 
Coenen, who conducted a number of orchestras, and did much to 
build up a considerable force of competent orchestral players in the 
city. In the '90s the most important orchestral enterprise was that 
of Edmund Severn, a composer of merit who at that time made 
Springfield his home. Financial difficulties abruptly put an end to 
a very promising experiment. Since then no fusion of professional 
and amateur talent has been attempted, but for the past two years 
two amateur orchestral bodies have been sustained, the Springfield 
Symphony orchestra, conducted by Miss Rebecca Wilder Holmes, 
and the Springfield Symphony club, conducted bv Emil Karl Janser. 
The former of these is open to women as well as to men. These 
orchestras give but one concert apiece each year, and therefore do 
not materially affect the musical season, but they have been of service 
in arousing an interest in orchestral playing, and in training amateur 
players. Each numbers about forty. 

Of miscellaneous concerts, recitals, etc., the city has in recent years 
had an allowance very creditable for its quality and by no means 
despicable in quantity and variety. The principal factor has been 
the High School course conducted by the music department of the 
high school but open to the public as well as to pupils. Concerts of 
the best sort, including an annual concert by the Kneisel quartet, 
have been given with an admission fee of but fifty cents. This course 
has during the past year been suspended because the greatly increased 
number of other concerts has made it at present unnecessary. The 
high school has done much for music, and was one of the first schools 
in the United States to introduce courses in harmony, ear training 
and the appreciation of music. The success of this experiment has 



8o Springfield Present and Prospective 

done not a little to bring about the striking recent developments of 
high school music. 

Another considerable factor in the musical life of the city has been 
the various musical clubs, but there has been no such general organ- 
ization as in some towns where the women's music club manages the 
concert and drums up the audiences. The organizations here have 
as a rule been of a smaller, neighborhood sort, and have confined 
their work to private musicales and meetings for cooperative study. 
In this way they have done much to foster a healthy interest in the 
art. Not a great deal in the way of concert giving has been done by 
Springfield musicians except in the field of organ music, in which 
formerly John Herman Loud, then at the First church, and at present 
Arthur H. Turner of the Church of the Unity, have been active. 
The choir music of Springfield has as a rule been of the conventional 
quartet form, but there have been some very successful larger choirs, 
notably the chorus of the South Congregational church, conducted 
by Mr. Bishop, the musical services of which always draw large con- 
gregations. Organ music has been somewhat handicapped in 
Springfield by the lack of adequate modern instruments, and a suita- 
ble concert room with a large organ is at present the most immediate 
need of the city. The destruction by fire of the old city hall destroyed 
what had Ions been the home of music, and since then only the Court 
Square theatre has been available for the larger musical affairs, while 
the high school hall serves for recitals. 

As an educational center for music Springfield stands well in 
spite of the fact that it has never had a central school of music. The 
public schools are doing much for the art, and the city is well supplied 
with excellent teachers in all branches. Entirely adequate instruc- 
tion can be had in piano, violin, violoncello, bass, many of the wind- 
instruments, singing, and musical theory, a fact which parents who 
desire to give their children a musical education appreciate. Alto- 
gether Springfield has done as much musically as almost any city of 
the same rank in the United States, and its advantages ha»'e so 
steadily increased in recent years that a marked development of 
musical culture may be confidently looked for. 

In theatrical matters there is of course no such opportunity for 
municipal individuality as in music, and vi'hat little individuality 
there may once have been has steadily decreased as the development 




M ^^ 









1 g 



'ij 






Springfield Present and Prospective 8 1 

of the theatrical business crowded out amateur performances, and 
the control of the stage by the syndicates reduced all provincial towns 
to the same level. At present they all drink out of the same tap; 
they take what the syndicate sends, and the lists of attractions at 
any two cities of the same class are as alike as two peas. But while 
there is in the theatrical life of the city nothing distinctively 
local, it is still, as it has always been, rather unusually favored in the 
quality of the attractions offered. Its position as the center of a 
considerable outlying population, and the character of its population, 
have given it standing as a good "show town," and this, together 
with its strategic position on the map, has always given it a very 
generous share of the best things, things that under ordinary circum- 
stances would not be brought to a town of its size. There are few 
noted actors, native or visiting, who are not seen in Springfield sooner 
or later. 

Until recent years the quality of what was offered was perhaps 
more notable than the quantity: it may be suggested that at present 
the tendency appears to be the other way. Until 189 1 a single small 
theatre (in the years just preceding that it was what is now the New 
Gilmore) sufficed perfectly, and there were not more than two or 
three performances a week through the season. With the opening 
of the fine new Court Square theatre by Dwight O. Gilmore his 
opera house seemed rather superfluous. The extraordinary devel- 
opment of the cheap theatre which has lately been so wide spread 
has been nowhere more conspicuous. There are at present four 
playhouses, all of which are usually in operation — the Court Square 
theatre seats 1,800 people, the New Gilmore, the Nelson, and Poll's 
theatre. Of these the Court Square is chiefly devoted to "the legiti- 
mate" and has ail the important attractions that are brought. The 
function of the other three buildings has fluctuated from time to 
time, one usually having vaudeville, another "burlesque" and a 
third melodrama. Enough theatrical entertainment is now given 
in a week to last the Springfield often years ago for an entire season, 
and people who would have then attended a performance perhaps 
once in a fortnight now seem to go almost daily. Yet the enormous 
development of the cheap theatres seems not to have hurt the patron- 
age of the best plays, though the city could no doubt support more 
of the first-rate productions but for this diversion. 



82 Springfield Present and Prospective 

While the number of important theatrical performances is small, 
some of the very choicest productions find their way to Court Square 
theatre, including more or less grand opera. In recent years until 
1894-5 the Metropolitan Opera House company of New York has 
usually given one performance each year, and "Tannhauser, 
"Lohengrin," "Die Meistersinger," "II Barbiere," and "Don 
Pasquale" have been among the works presented. At present the 
place of these performances is taken by the Henry W. Savage com- 
pany which gives an annual operatic festival. That for 1904-5, the 
first, included "Otello," "Carmen," "II Trovatore," and "Lohen- 
grin," and there was in addition a performance of " Parsifal." These 
performances of grand opera in English will assuredly do much to 
stir popular interest and will be an important reinforcement to the 
musical season. 

It is in the operatic field that the local theatrical talent has had the 
fullest opportunity, and the chief leader has been the late Mrs. W. P. 
Mattoon, who after her marraige devoted to the amateur world talents 
which she had trained for a broader stage. The brilliant perform- 
ance of " Pinafore," which was given under her direction when 
the opera was quite new and had not been presented in this country 
except in Boston, kindled a strong local interest in this form of enter- 
tainment, and was the first of a series of highly successful local 
performances the exceptional merit of which was largely due to 
her gifts. 

Francis E. and Howard K. Regal 




MRS. W . P . M A T T O'O N 




The fVading Pond at Fottst Park 



THE -STORY- OF 
5PRINGF1ELD 




N the spring of 1636 the little band of hardy forefathers, 
who were the germs of the present city of 72,000 inhab- 
itants, made a settlement on the banks of the river, 
which was called by the Indians, who were not partic- 
ular about their spelling, "Quinnektuqut," and tran- 
scribed in the deed by the settlers, who were equally careless 
orthographically, "Quinneckiot." 

The settlement was named Springfield, not because it was settled 
in the spring, nor on account of the numerous springs that to this 
day flow from the hillsides, but in honor of old Springfield in 
England. 

For a consideration, much less than the land is now held for, two 
of the "ancient Indians of Agaam" representing eleven other Indians, 
who claimed joint proprietorship, conveyed to William Pynchon, 
Henry Smith, and John Burr, their associates and heirs forever, a 
large tract of land on both sides of the river, including a greater 
part of the land now occupied by Springfield and West Springfield 
and Agawam. It is almost a shame to publish the purchase price, 
but it is in the ancient deed, and stands as a monument of clever 
financiering. One parcel of land, without doubt the largest, was 
paid for with "ten Fathom of Wampam, Ten Coates, Ten howes. 
Ten hatchets and Ten knives," and two other parcels for four each 
of the same coin. The deed states that the Indians agree to "truck 
and sel al that ground" for said consideration, a vivifying glimpse 
at the way we got our sense of the word "truck." 

In the year 1647 the General Court made very large additions to 
the territory of Springfield, so that it included Westfield, Suffield, a 



84 Springfield Present and Prospective 

considerable part of Southwick, the whole of West Springfield, 
Holyoke and Agawam on the west side of the river, and the present 
sites of Springfield, Chicopee, Enfield, Somers, Wilbraham, Ludlow, 
Longmeadow and Hampden on the east side. Later years found 
these towns set apart and conducting their own business, but they 
do not forget that they were once part of the old stand. 

The village was burned by the Indians in 1675, but was quickly 
rebuilt, and the ashes used to fertilize the Indian corn and early 
settlers' potatoes. There have been some amateur attempts to burn 
the city since by white people, but never again was it so thoroughly 
done. 

In 1812 the southerly part of the old county of Hampshire was 
named Hampden, and Springfield was made the shire town. The 
necessary court house was erected in 1 82 1. 

By 1850 the population of the town had increased to 12,498, a 
bewildering lot of people in those days, and it was proposed to incor- 
porate the town as a city. There was abundant opposition to con- 
summating the plan, the township spirit being strong, but two years 
later the charter was secured and Springfield became a city corpora- 
tion May 25, 1852. 

Springfield celebrated the 250th anniversary of its settlement the 
week of May 25, 1886, in memorable fashion, that date being the 
anniversary of the first recorded town meeting, and the same month 
in 1902 the fiftieth anniversary of its incorporation as a city. 

Glimpses of Events and Incidents and Men that Figured in 
Springfield's History 

COTTON Mather, in his writings, explained the inception of Spring- 
field in this way: "The fame of Connecticut river, a long, fresh, 
rich river, had made a little Nilus of it, in the expectation of the 
good people about the Massachusetts bav, whereupon many of the 
planters, belonging especially to the towns of Cambridge, Dorchester 
and Roxbury, took up resolutions to travel an hundred miles west- 
ward from those towns, for a further settlement upon the famous 
river." John Cable and John Woodcock were sent forward in the 
spring of 1635 to build a house, which they did, on the west 
side of the river, in the Agawam meadow. They remained there 
during the summer and cultivated some land, and returned to 



Springfield Present and Prospective 85 

Roxbury in the autumn. But being informed by the Indians that 
the meadows were frequently overflowed, the settlers located on the 
east side of the river. It is believed that William Pynchon, alike 
the founder of Roxbury and Springfield, with Henry Smith, his 
son-in-law, and John Burr, had visited the spot in 1634 and selected 
the location of the city of today, so that as far back as we can go 
the descendants of the Pynchons, Burrs and Smiths can claim the 
sponsorship of Springfield for their families. 

William Pynchon, a man of wealth, education and piety, became 
the principal man of the town, and, too late for him to appreciate 
the honor, had a street, a bank, and a hotel named after him. There 
is to be a Pynchon statue in Springfield some day. In 1638 Mr. 
Pynchon was made the first magistrate, and served till 165 1, when 
he fell under the displeasure of the General Court because of his 
book, "The Meritorious Price of Man's Redemption," and he soon 
after returned to England. His son. Major John Pynchon, succeeded 
him in importance in the town affairs. 

Rev. George Moxon was the first minister, his services beginning 
in 1637. The meeting-house, which stood not far from the site of 
the present First church, was not built till 1645. It was the first 
church edifice in the state outside of Boston. 

In 1649 witchcraft broke out, and raged for several years. There 
was nothing then like our state board of health that would have 
secured germs and investigated and reported on the analysis later. 
Suspicions were confirmation enough for prosecution in those 
days. In 165 1 Mary Parsons was charged with bewitching the 
minister's two daughters, for which she was tried and finally ac- 
quitted. Pastor Moxon was dismissed at his own request in 1652. 
He was succeeded in the pastorate by Rev. Peletiah Glover in 1661. 

Major John Pynchon, who in the heyday of his activity was the 
personified trust of the town, being banker, importer and exporter 
of merchandise, land speculator, farmer, stock raiser, beaver trader 
and village merchant, owning sawmills, gristmills, cider mills, ware- 
houses and boats, was also a mining prospector, and could never 
get it out of his head that the hills about Springfield contained iron 
and other valuable minerals. The story goes that he, as did his 
father before him, spent much money prospecting, going as far 
north as Deerfield. 



86 Springfield Present and Prospective 

John Pynchon built the Pynchon house— commonly known as 
the Fort, on the west side of Main street and a little north of Fort 
street, sometime prior to 1660, and it was occupied by the Pynchon 
family until about 1 831, when it was taken down. The main part 
of the house was built of brick; and it was often a place of refuge 
for the people during the Indian troubles. 

The first recorded marriage was in 1640, when Elizur Holyoke 
became the husband of Mary Pynchon, daughter of William. The 
groom has a town up the river named after him. The records of the 
same year divulge a fine for profanity. Goody Gregory was accused 
by John Woodcock of saying to him with a profanatory preface, 
"I could break thy head." Three hours in the stocks was Goody's 
punishment. 

The town was incorporated June 2, 1641. In 1647, "Woronoko" 
was made part of Springfield. Certain common lands were annexed 
March, 1648, and May 19, i66g, these lands and "Woronoko" were 
separated from Springfield and established as the town of Westfield. 
May 31, 1670, the bounds between Westfield and Springfield were 
established. The boundary between Springfield and Northampton 
was established in 1685, and that between Springfield and Wil- 
braham June 15, 1763, and that between Springfield and West 
Springfield February 23, 1774. February 28, 1774, a part of 
Springfield known as Stony Hill was established as the town of 
Ludlow. October 13, 1783, a part of Springfield was set off and 
established as the town of Longmeadow. June 11, 1797, a part of 
the town called "The Elbows" was annexed to Wilbraham. June 
5, 1830, the boundary between Springfield and Ludlow was estab- 
lished. April 29, 1848, a part of Springfield was set off and estab- 
lished as the town of Chicopee. And what was left of the original 
town was incorporated April 12, 1852, as the city of Springfield. 
A part of Longmeadow was annexed to Springfield June 2, 1890. 

The following is a list of the inhabitants of Springfield from 1636 
to 1664, as given in Barber's book: 

William Pynchon, Henry Smith, William Blake, Edmund Wood, Thomas 
Ufford, John Cabel, Matthew Mitchell, Samuel Buttcrfield, James Wood, 
John Reader, Thomas Woodford, John Seele, Richard Everitt, Thomas 
Horton, Rev. George Moxon, Thomas Mirrick, John Leonard, Robert 
Ashley, John Woodcock, John Ailin, John Burt, Henry Gregory, Samuel 




WILLIAM PYNCHON 




'The Pynthon Menwial in Springfeltl Cemelety -Mary Fynrlion Holyoke Headstone 




The ff'ait Guide Stone at Federal and Slate Streets 





Washingion Elm 'Parson Tavern 



Springfield Present and Prospective 87 

Hubbard, Elizur Holyoke, William Warriner, Henry Burt, Rowland Steb- 
bins, Thomas Stebbins, Samuel Wright, Richard Sikes, John Deeble, 
Samuel Chapin, Morgan Johns, Thomas Cooper, James Bridgman, Alex- 
ander Edwards, John Dobie, Roger Pritchard, Francis Ball, John Harmon, 
William Vaughn, William Jess, Miles Morgan, Abraham Mundon, Francis 
Pepper, John Burrhall, Benjamin Cooley, John Matthews, George Colton, 
Joseph Parsons, John Clark, James Osborne, Thomas Rieve, Wid. Margaret 
Bliss, Nathaniel Bliss, Thomas Tomson, Richard Exell, William Branch, 
Griffith Jones, Reice Bedortha, Hugh Parsons, John Lombard, John Scarlet, 
George Langton, Lawrence Bliss, Samuel Bliss, John Bliss, Anthony Dor- 
chester, John Lamb, Samuel Marshfield, John Dumbleton, Jonathan 
Taylor, Rowland Thomas, Thomas Miller, Benjamin Parsons, Obadiah 
Miller, Abel Wright, Hugh Dudley, William Brooks, Simon Beamon, 
Samuel Terry, John Lamb, Benjamin Mun, John Stewart, Thomas Ban- 
croft, Thomas Noble, Richard Maund, Thomas Gilbert, Simon Sacket, 
Richard Fellowes, Rev. Peletiah Glover, Tahan Grant, Nathaniel Ely, 
Samuel Ely, John Keep, Edward Poster, Thomas Sewall, Thomas Day, 
John Riley, John Henryson, William Hunter, John Scott. 

In Elizur Holyoke's list of "allowed and admitted inhabitants" 
were the following names not in tlie above list: Henry Chapin, John 
Bagg, Peter Swinck, John Baker, Capt. John Pynchon, Timothy 
Cooper, David Ashley, Jonathan Burt, John Lombard, Thomas 
Bancroft, Joseph Crowfoot, James Warner, Jeremy Horton, Syman 
Bemon, Charles Fferry, Wid. Burt, Jonathan Ball, John Horton. 
Many named in the former list had left, so that Holyoke's list con- 
tained but seventy-four names in 1664. Assuming that each was 
the head of a family, the number of admitted inhabitants was prob- 
ably as many as three hundred. 

Deacon Samuel Chapin, who came to Springfield about 1640, 
became a man of prominence in affairs of town and church. He 
was a typical Puritan, was made selectman for many years, and held 
other positions of trust. 

Miles Morgan, another worthy of the same period, was of the 
rough-hewn type of pioneer. The records show that although he 
was elected selectman, he could not write, but made his mark by 
drawing something the shape of an anchor. He made his mark in 
other ways in the growing town, and his namesakes have done 
Hkewise. One of them is J. Pierpont Morgan. 

In 1662 Hampshire county was established embracing all the 
territory between Berkshire and Worcester counties and extending 



88 Springfield Present and Prospective 

from the Connecticut line to the north line of Massachusetts. Spring- 
field was the shire town; and it was provided in the act establishing 
the county that the courts be held alternately at Northampton and 
Springfield. 

The first board of selectmen in Springfield, elected for the years 
1644-45, were Henry Smith, Thomas Cooper, Samuel Chapin, 
Richard Sikes and Henry Burt. 

The early settlers were for the most part farmers. One of the 
early industries was the gathering and preparing of turpentine from 
the pine trees in the vicinity, and some regulations were established 
touching the manner of conducting the business. No one was 
allowed to work more than one thousand trees at the same time. 
Those engaged in this business were required to take a license, for 
which a fee was charged. The money thus raised was devoted to 
the public schools. 

In 1716 Springfield had six precincts: the west side of the river, 
now West Springfield, Longmeadow, Agawam, Upper Chicopee, 
Lower Chicopee, and Skipmuck. Each precinct was obliged to 
keep a school running, with financial help from the town. 

The Dwight family began to appear in the town affairs about the 
time of the Revolution, and the old Dwight store, at the corner of 
Main and State streets, was for many years a leading feature of the 
town, conducted successively by Jonathan Dwight, Jonathan Dwight 
y Son, James and Henry Dwight, and J. and E. Dwight. It was 
a general store, the forerunner of the modern department store in 
the variety of goods carried. The Dwights owned boats running 
between Hartford, New York and Boston, and a line running from 
Springfield to Hartford. They were also interested in the banking 
business here and in other towns. Jonathan Dwight, Jr., was at 
one time president of the old Springfield bank. The family were also 
alive to other institutions in the profit-making class of banks, and Col. 
Thomas Dwight and Jonathan Dwight were with Colonel Worthing- 
ton and John Hooker in establishing a gin distillery on Main street 
in 1792. 

The first Springfield paper was The Massachusetts Gazette and 
General Advertiser, published by Babcock ^ Haswell in 1782. 

The industrial possibilities of Mill river, Chicopee river, and of 
other available streams, were not neglected. Cornmills and saw- 
mills were of the earliest industries of the town. A fulling and cloth 




"^M» 


--'', 




fe 




^sK~ 



. e,. 



^^r^ 



i-/ mi 



^lb»-«^;-; 



' TAe oW Dwight House^ which stood at the corner of Dwight and Sanford Streets 

- The old Day House in West Springfeld; now preserved and used by the Daughters of the Revolution 
as museum for ancient relics of local interest 




The Old Blanchard Invention for Turning Gun stocks 



Springfield Present atiJ Prospective 



mill, a bleachery, a small tannery, were established on Mill river 
prior to the government work on the same stream. About 1800 the 
Ames paper mill was established. 

Springfield had much less population than West Springfield at 
the beginning of the eighteenth century. By 18 10 it had gained 
noticeably on the rival side of the river, the figures being 2,767 for 
Springfield and 3,109 for West Springfield. In 1820, for the first 
time in the memory of those then living, Springfield gained the lead, 
having 3,970 inhabitants to West Springfield's 3,246. From that 
time on our neighbor has been outclassed, though it would have 
been a different story had the Armory been located over the river. 
Legends say it was almost the toss of a penny which location was 
chosen. 

In the eighteenth century many prominent Springfielders were 
slaveholders, such names as Pynchon, Dwight, Colton, Day, Mir- 
rick, Ely and Bell appearing as the owners of black chattels. Slav- 
ery died out in Springfield early in the last century. 

Up to the war of 1812 it was not the custom to bolt the doors of 
houses in the town. A series of burglaries, however, made it fash- 
ionable. 

An advertisement of the second toll bridge lottery in 1816, over 
the signature of H. Brewer, showed that the modern style of ad\er- 
tisement writing is no novelty. The public was beseeched in this 
wise: "There's a tide now flowing and is almost flood tide. Spring- 
field bridge lottery is a fine tide of riches. Improve it. Set every 
sail. Soon it will be too late. The 26th is at hand." 

Thomas Blanchard's invention of a lathe for turning irregular 
forms, which was perfected at the Armory under Col. Roswell Lee 
in 1820, was a device that caused a revolution in mechanics and gave 
Springfield international fame. 

At the annual town meetmg held in 1848, the year in which 
Chicopee was set off from the town of Springfield, the last boards of 
town officers were elected to serve the undivided town. It was a 
mixed list of Springfield and Chicopee men. Joseph Ingraham, 
whose service before and after the separation covered many years, 
was chosen clerk and treasurer. The selectmen were Henry Vose, 
Titus Amadon, John B. M. Stebbins, Harvey Butler, all Springfield 
men, and Bildad B. Belcher and Nathaniel Cutler, Cabotville men. 



90 Springfield Present and Prospective 

The assessors were Lewis Girham of Springfield, Ira M. BuUens of 
Cabotville, and Pliny Cadwell of Chicopee Falls. Of the overseers 
of poor, Elijah Blake, David Hitchcock and William Hatfield were 
Springfield men, Andrew Hubbard was of Chicopee Falls. The 
board of health were Elijah Blake, Josiah Hooker, Daniel Hitch- 
cock of Springfield, Clark Albro of Cabotville, and Andrew Hubbard 
of Chicopee Falls. The school committee was composed of Rev. 
Henry W. Lee, Hon. William B. Calhoun, Samuel McNary of Spring- 
field, Rev. Eli B. Clark of Cabotville, and Rev. Robert C. Mills of 
Chicopee Falls. 

The Massasoit house, under the management of members of the 
Chapin family, which has continued to this day, was opened in 1843, 
and long has served to distinguish Springfield. The Springfield 
house, owned by Charles Stearns and conducted by Bugbee isf Clark, 
made the corner of Bridge and Water streets important in 1844. 
The Wason car works were started in 1845. 

A little strike followed by trouble with strike-breakers interested 
the Springfield police and militia in 1847. The workmen on the 
Holyoke canals struck because their pay was reduced from seventy- 
seven and seventy-five cents a day to seventy cents. The men who 
took their places at that munificent wage were mobbed, even as 
today. 

The perodicals in Springfield in 1848, just before Chicopee was 
set off, were as follows: Springfield Gazette, weekly and daily, by 
William Stow, at No. 12 Main street, upstairs; Hampden Post, 
weekly and tri-weekly, by D. F. Ashley, office Elm street; Springfield 
Republican, weekly and daily, by S. Bowles, Exchange row; Hamp- 
den Washingtonian, by A. G. Tannatt; Springfield Sentinel, by Haw- 
ley ^ Tenney; Chicopee Telegraph, by j. C. Stove isf Co., at Cabot- 
ville; Cabotville Mirror, by Henry Russell. 

The Springfield Young Men's institute was organized in October, 
1843. The library numbered about 2,000 volumes. The officers 
for 1848 were John Mills, president; Ariel Parish, Erasmus D. Beach 
and Henry Morris, vice-presidents; Ephraim W. Bond, correspond- 
ing secretary; Samuel Bowles, recording secretary; John R. Hixon, 
treasurer; and the counselors were Lorenzo Norton, Elisha Gunn, 
Jr., Addison Ware, C. B. Bowers, William W. Billings, Allen Bangs, 



Springfield Present an J Prospective 9 1 

George B. Morris. This institute was one of the hnks in the evolu- 
tionary efforts that finally culminated in the formation of the city 
library, and seems to have absorbed the earlier literary societies of 
the town. It had a large membership, and had acquired an excellent 
local reputation, and received material support from prominent 
citizens. Its officers were prominent men, some of them of more 
than local reputation. 

Another organization of much local interest was the Springfield 
Light Guards, organized in 1844, as company E of the loth regiment, 
6th brigade, 3d division of the M. V. A*!.; and made its first public 
parade on the fourth of October, 1844. Its officers in 1848 were 
J. M. Thompson, captain; B. F. Warner, E. W. Bond and James 
Kirkham, lieutenants. 

The Hampden agricultural society, incorporated in 1844, was 
another organization of great local popularity, and numbered among 
its members many well-known men from all parts of the county. 
Its president in 1848 was William B. Calhoun, one of Springfield's 
most able men. Its annual fairs were attended b}' people from all 
the towns in the county, and it did much to encourage agriculture in 
the Connecticut valley. 

The banking institutions in Springfield in 1848 were the Spring- 
field Institution for Savings, incorporated in 1827. Its office at that 
time was at the Springfield bank. Its president was josiah Hooker. 
The Springfield bank, with a capital of $250,000 in 1848, was incor- 
porated in 1814 with a capital stock of $200,000. Its president 
in T848 was John Howard, and the cashier was Lewis Warriner. 

The Chicopee bank was established in 1836 with a capital stock 
of $200,000. Its president in 1848 was Samuel Reynolds, and the 
cashier was B. F. Warner. The Agawam bank was incorporated in 
1846 with a capital stock of $100,000. In 1848 its president was 
Chester W. Chapin, and the cashier was F. S. Bailey. The Mutual 
Fire Assurance company was incorporated in 1826. Its president 
in 1848 was Philo F. Wilcox, and the secretary was Justice WlUard. 

The meeting-houses and clergymen of Springfield in 1848 were 
the following: 

First Congregational, Court square, Samuel Osgood, D.D. 

Second Congregational, Chicopee street, E. B. Clark. 

Third Congregational (Unitarian), State street. 



92 Springfield Present and Prospective 

Fourth Congregational, State street, E. Russell. 

Fifth Congregational, Chicopee Falls. 

Sixth Congregational, Cabotville, S. G. Clapp. 

Seventh Congregational, Bliss street, S. G. Buckingham. 

Eighth Congregational (Unitarian), Cabotville, C. Nightingale. 

North Congregational, Free church, R. H. Conklin. 

First Methodist Episcopal, Union street, G. E. Landon. 

Second Methodist Episcopal, Chicopee Falls, D. Sherman. 

Third Methodist Episcopal, Cabotville, L. Crovv^ell. 

Fourth Methodist Episcopal, Pynchon street, M. Trafton. 

First Baptist, Main street, M. G. Cask. 

Second Baptist, Chicopee Falls, R. C. Mills. 

Third Baptist, Cabotville, J. G. Warren. 

Protestant Episcopal, State street, H. W. Lee. 

Wesleyan Methodist, Main street, W. Bevins. 

First Universalist, Main street, A. A. Folsom. 

Second Universalist, Cabotville, Z. Thompson. 

Roman Catholic, Cabotville, Father Cavanaugh. 

Roman Catholic, East Union street, G. T. Reardon. 

There were twenty-two lawyers in the town in 1848, among whom 
were George Ashmun, R. A. Chapman, E. D. Beach, E. W. Bond, 
Henry Morris, Ansel Phelps. Henry Vose, George Walker, John 
Wells, and Justice Willard, who attained more than a local reputa- 
tion; and there were thirty-five physicians. 

CiTYHOOD, AND BeTTER COMMUNICATION WITH TRIBUTARY 

Country 

SHORTLY after the separation of the two principal villages and the 
creation of two separate towns, the political affairs of Spring- 
field became so intolerable that it was decided to apply for a city 
charter; which was granted April 12, 1852, and was accepted by the 
town April 21, 1852, by a vote of 969 yeas against 454 nays. 

William B. Calhoun, John B. Kirkham, Theodore Stebbins, 
Eliphalet Trask, and James Ingraham were chosen to be a committee 
to divide the city into eight wards. The population of the several 
wards when so divided was stated by the committee as follows: 
Ward One, 2,222; Ward Two, 2,294; Ward Three, 2,120; Ward 
Four, 1,711; Ward Five, 1,935; Ward Six, 710; Ward Seven, 
688; Ward Eight, 730. 





^The Old First Baptist Churchy where the Republican building now stands 
^The Old H'ilcox Building, razed in 1889 to make way for the present post 0^ 




>^ 




(3? 




!<. 



Springfield Present and Prospective 93 

Joseph Ingraham was elected city clerk, and as clerk made an 
entry upon the records as follows: 

Springfield, May 25th, 1852. 

This day ends the town and commences the city government. Having 
been a town just two hundred and sixteen years to a day. And now we go 
from an old town to an intant city. Joseph Ingraham, last town and first 
city clerk and treasurer of the old town and the new city of Springfield. 

Although a list of all the men who have been elected to office 
since the incorporation of the city would be uninteresting to the 
general reader, a list of the mayors can hardly be omitted, and in 
the order of their service the list is given: 

Caleb Rice, 1852-53; Philos B. Tyler, 1854; Eliphalet Trask, 1855; 
Ansel Phelps, Jr., 1856-58; William B. Calhoun, 1859; Daniel L. Harris, 
i860; Stephen C. Bemis, 1861-62; Henry Alexander, Jr., 1863-64; Albert 
D. Briggs, 1865-67; Charles A. Winchester, l868-6g; William L. Smith, 
1870-71; Samuel B. Spooner, 1872-73; fohn M. Stebbins, 1874; Emerson 
Wight, 1875-78; Lewis J. Powers, 1879-80; William H. Haile, 1881; Edwin 
W. Ladd, 1882; Henry M. Phillips, 1883-85; Edwin D. Metcalf, 1886; 
Elisha B. Maynard, 1887-88; Edward S. Bradford, 1889-91; Lawson Sib- 
ley, 1892; Edward P. Kendrick, 1893-94; Charles L. Long, 1895; Newrie 
D. Winter, 1896; Henry S. Dickinson, 1897-98; Dwight O. Gilmore, 1899; 
William P. Hayes, 1900-01; Ralph W. Ellis, 1902; Everett E. Stone, 
1903-04; Francke W. Dickinson, 1905. 

The relation of Springfield to other towns in the vicinity, and the 
methods of travel and of transporting goods and merchandise to and 
from the town prior to the day of railroads, is an important feature 
of its history. Aside from the river and private carriages of various 
kinds, the public at large traveled in stage-coaches, a good represen- 
tation of them being shown in the old wood cut of Court square, a 
reproduction of which is here shown, that were usually drawn by 
four horses, the drivers of which were very skillful and took honest 
pride in their vocation. As a rule they were a good class of men. 
Turnpikes, maintained on the toll-gate system, were in use every- 
where in New England. Every town had a prosperous tavern for 
the entertainment of travelers, in compliance with the law which 
required that "every innholder shall at all times be furnished with 
suitable provisions and lodging, for strangers and travelers, and with 
stable room, hay and provender, for their horses and cattle." As 
business was usually good they found no difficulty in complying with 



94 Springfield Present and Prospective 

the law. The transportation of goods and merchandise was done 
with transportation wagons and horses. This encouraged the main- 
tenance of numerous small taverns scattered along the way at con- 
venient intervals for the entertainment of teamsters and their teams. 
Farmers along these routes of travel found ready sale for all the 
products of their farms. 

It will aid the reader to a better understanding of the condition 
of Springfield at this period in its history, by comparing its popula- 
tion with that of other towns in this part of New England at about 
1825. Quoting from Morse's Pocket Gazetteer, published in 1826, 
the following towns are selected at random as to population : Spring- 
field, 3,970; West Springfield, 3,246; Westfield, 2,668; Palmer, 1,197 
Wilbraham, 1,979; Monson, 2,126; Granville, 1,643; Chester, 1,526 
Blandford, 1,515; Worcester, 2,962; Suffield, 2,681; Pittsfield, 2,768 
Hartford, 6,901; Worthington, 1,276; Northampton, 3,288. So it 
would seem that under the then system of travel and transportation, 
all the towns had a reasonably equal chance. But Springfield en- 
joyed the additional advantage of river navigation, bringing it, in 
an imperfect way, in touch with the sea. 

Early in the nineteenth century a line of small steamers for carry- 
ing passengers and light freight was in operation between Springfield 
and Hartford. It is said that this enterprise was started by Thomas 
Blanchard of Springfield. In an account of these boats given by 
T. M. Dewey, Esq., whose practical experience qualified him to 
speak upon this subject, in a paper read by him before the Connecti- 
cut Valley historical society in 1878, he said: "The first was the 
Springfield, a side-wheel steamer; then the Vermont, a stern-wheeler 
built b}' Blanchard; then the Massachusetts, the Agawam and the 
Phoenix. The captains of these boats were Peck, Mosely and Hoyt." 
There are living many who will remember the Agawam and the 
Phoenix, and their captains. Peck and Hoyt. The passage of these 
boats through the opening in the dam and through the narrow 
channel to Warehouse Point, was interesting and sometimes exciting. 
It was not thought necessary at that time to have draws in the bridges 
to let the boats through, nor was it considered necessary to elevate 
the bridges to an unusual height. A hinge in the smokepipe with 
proper appliances to bring it to a horizontal position, was quite 
satisfactory. 



Springfield Present and Prospective 95 

General freightinsj was done in flat-bottom boats that were 
usually poled up the river when there was insufficient wind for the 
sails. The canal at Windsor Locks was used by boats ascending the 
river. Of the river pilots, Mr. Adin Allen was well known, and sur- 
vived to a good old age, well into the latter part of the century. 

In February, 1842, Charles Dickens went from Springfield to 
Hartford. The late John Mulligan was the engineer, and the writer 
learned from him some facts touching this trip. Soon after the 
Springfield and Hartford railroad went into operation in 1844, the 
little steamers were abandoned. 

The Hartford and Springfield railroad corporation was estab- 
lished by an act of the Massachusetts legislature, April 5, 1839. 
March 13, 1841, the time limit for its organization was extended two 
years from the fifth of April following, and for its completion a 
further extension of three years from that date was granted. And, 
by an act passed February 23, 1844, the time was further extended 
to April 5, 1846. The road was completed in the year 1844. 

On January 25, 1829, "The board of directors of internal im- 
provements of the state of Massachusetts" submitted a report "on 
the practicability and expediency of a railroad from Boston to the 
Hudson river," with maps showing the proposed route substantially 
as at present located. March 12, 1830, the Massachusetts railroad 
corporation was incorporated with authority to locate and construct 
a railroad from near Boston to the Hudson river at some point near 
Albany or Troy; and was required to complete the railroad before 
January I, 1835. 

June 23, 1 83 1, the Boston and Worcester railroad corporation 
was incorporated with the condition that its road should be com- 
pleted before July I, 1836. 

March 15, 1833, the Western railroad corporation was incorpo- 
rated to construct a railroad from the western terminus of the Boston 
and Worcester railroad to the western boundary of the state in a 
direction toward the Hudson river. The first train was run from 
Worcester to Springfield in October, 1839. That part of the railroad 
extending west from Springfield was so far constructed that cars 
began running from Springfield to Chester Factories, May 24, 1841, 
and the road was in full operation between Springfield and Albany 
in 1842. The running time from Albany to Boston was ten hours 



g6 Springfield Present and Prospective 

and three-quarters, including stops. The regulation speed was 
twenty miles an hour. 

George Bliss was one of the prime movers m railroading in 
western Massachusetts, and the names of William B. Calhoun, 
George Ashmun, Charles Stearns, Justice Willard and |. B. Sheffield 
also figure in the early plans for the Western railroad, which matured 
through the '30s. 

The railroad between Springfield and Chicopee was provided 
for in the act incorporating the Hartford and Springfield railroad 
corporation. On March i, 1842, a railroad corporation was estab- 
lished under the name of the Northampton and Springfield railroad 
corporation, to build a line from a point in Northampton "to meet 
the track of the Hartford and Springfield railroad corporation at 
Cabotville in Springfield." January 25, 1845, the Greenfield and 
Northampton railroad corporation was incorporated as an extension 
of the Northampton and Springfield railroad. Such was the begin- 
ning of what was subsequently the Connecticut River railroad cor- 
poration, and under that name the time for filing its location was 
extended by act passed April 14, 1847. It was that year opened as 
far as Greenfield. 

The Springfield and Longmeadow railroad company was m- 
corporated May 2, 1849, and in 1866 the act of incorporation was 
amended so as to permit a location terminating at the state line in 
either Longmeadow or Wilbraham. By a later act this corporation 
was authorized to consolidate with a Connecticut corporation under 
the name of Springfield and New London railroad company, and by 
Chapter 70 of the Acts of 1869, the city of Springfield was authorized 
to take stock in or loan its credit to the road. A proposal for a sub- 
scription of $150,000 to the stock of the Longmeadow road was 
accepted by the city government, and the question was submitted 
to the voters at a special election July 21, 1874. The comments of 
the Springfield Republican, touching this vote, led to a libel suit of 
Willis Phelps against the publishers of that paper. Shortly after 
this vote the road was completed. 

In 1856, the Springfield and Farmington Valley railroad was in- 
corporated, and it was to approach Springfield by way of Feeding 
Hills and West Springfield. For some reason the road was not built. 
Subsequently the Springfield branch of the Central New England 
railroad was built over substantially the same route. 




Ijj 



5 

■-C, 





^The Carew Houses old home oj Joseph Carew, zohose name is bequeathed to Carew Street 
'■'The Chapin Stage Coach, one of those famous vehicles that preceded the railroad train 



Springfield Present and Prospective 97 

The Athol and Enfield railroad was connected with Springfield 
by act of incorporation in 1 87 1, with authority for the two roads to 
become one corporation by uniting the Athol and Enfield with the 
Athol and Springfield. 

The Springfield street railroad company was incorporated March 
16, 1868, and it was operated with horses until electric power was 
introduced in 1890. The first horse cars that went down Central 
street hill were derailed before venturing to make the descent. 

Chester W. Chapin, who once drove an ox team, then drove 
stages, and soon owned stage lines and a river boat running to Hart- 
ford, seized the early railroad opportunities. He was the wealthiest 
man in Springfield in 1851. He became president of the Connecticut 
River railroad, and was keen in developing Springfield as a railroad 
center. His connection with the Boston and Albany railroad was a 
period of constant progress for that line. He was congressman at 
one time, was prominent in banking and other corporations in 
Springfield, being the foremost of local financiers. 

The first toll-bridge was opened October 30, 1805, and it is said 
to have been the "child of a lottery." It was 1,234 feet long and 
thirty feet wide; it was forty feet above low-water mark; an open 
bridge painted red, and supported on five piers. Its cost was 
i^36,27o. It is said that a succession of floods so weakened it that it 
gave way under a load of army supplies nine years after it was 
opened; and it was torn down in 1814. The tolls as established in 
1808 were as follows: For each foot passenger, 3 cents; each horse 
and rider, 7 cents; each horse and chaise, chair or sulky, 16 cents; 
each coach, chariot, phaeton or other four-wheeled carriage for 
passengers, if drawn by two horses, 33 cents; for each additional 
horse, 6 cents; each curricle, other than two-wheeled carriages for 
passengers, drawn by more than one horse, 25 cents, each sleigh 
drawn by one horse, 10 cents; if by two horses, 12! cents; and 
for each additional horse, 3 cents; for each cart, sled, or carriage of 
burden drawn by one beast, 10 cents; if drawn by two beasts, 16 
cents; and if by more and not exceeding four beasts, 20 cents; and 
for each additional beast, 4 cents; for each horse, ass or mule without 
a rider, and for neat cattle, 4 cents each; for sheep or swine, I cent 
each; and one person and no more shall be allowed to each team to 
pass free of toll. But in favor of inhabitants of Springfield or West 
Springfield some modifications were made. 



98 Springfield Present and Prospective 

The second toll-bridge was opened to travel October I, 1816. 
Its cost was $22,000. This is also said to be the "child of a lottery." 
It was partly carried away in 1818, and was restored in 1820, and 
it is the bridge now standing. It was made a free bridge in 1872. 
The North-end bridge was built in 1878, costing $170,904; the 
South-end bridge in 1879, costing $116,188. In March, 1674, a 
ferry was authorized on the Connecticut below Agawam river, and 
the charges were 8d. for horse and man; 2d. for foot passenger; 3d. 
for troopers training days. A ferry was maintained at this place 
down to the time of opening the South-end bridge. The fact of the 
existence of a ferry a short distance above the present railroad bridge 
at some time is a fact preserved in the name Ferry street. 

The Springfield fire department traces its origin to the earliest 
years of the town's history, when the founders of the plantation or- 
dered among themselves to keep a stout leathern bucket for use in 
case of fire. At the public expense a number of hooks and ladders 
were made and were stored in some place known to every man in the 
town. A little later a two-wheeled cart was provided to carry the 
ladders, and on each corner of the primitive truck was hung a leather 
bucket ready for instant use. This equipment comprised the fire- 
fighting apparatus for more than the first century of the town's 
history, while the personnel of the department included every man 
who could pass the bucket along the line without spilling the water. 
The town brook supplied water, and was supplemented by small 
reservoirs here and there. A small fire engine called the Lion was 
purchased about 1792. In 1794 a fire club was organized to man 
the engine, and each member was required to keep in his house two 
fire bags with which to move goods from burning houses, and two 
buckets to be used in carrying water. At first the Lion was supplied 
with five feet of hose, but under Foreman Elijah Blake twenty-five 
feet more were added. 

In 1824, largely through the efforts of George Dwight, a new 
side-brake engine, the Tiger, was purchased almost wholly by sub- 
scription. About this time there was purchased a Button machine 
called Eagle No. i, and a Waterman called Eagle No. 2. There was 
also a machine called the Old Ocean. The Indian Orchard and 
Sixteen Acres people secured an engine and named it the Torrent. 
In 1826 the town appointed a committee to purchase a first-class 



m,. 







=o 



ti. 



O 







Q 

tS 



Springfield Present and Prospective 99 

suction engine with one hundred feet of hose. In 1827 it was voted 
to build an engine house. 

In 1830 the Legislature passed an "act to establish a fire depart- 
ment in the town of Springfield." In 1 83 1, Elijah Blake was ap- 
pointed chief engineer. The fire department was reorganized in 
1833. In 1845 the Springfield fire district was established. The 
officers were Cicero Simmons, chief engineer; Lucius Harthan, first 
assistant; James M. Thompson, second assistant, and Samuel S. 
Day, third assistant engineers. Under the provisions of the amenda- 
tory act in 1853 the city council adopted an ordinance establishing 
a fire department, to consist of a chief engineer and eight other 
engineers, and as many enginemen, hydrantmen and hook and 
laddermen, to be divided into companies, as the number of engines 
and other fire apparatus should from time to time require. 

In 1862 the city purchased a steam fire engine. In 1867 the 
working force of the department comprised three steamers, each 
with a hose carriage and a company of twenty-five men, one inde- 
pendent hose company of thirty-five men, and one hand engine and 
hose carriage at Indian Orchard. From time to time, keeping even 
pace with the growth of the city, the fire department has been in- 
creased in working force and efficiency as occasion has required; 
and liberal expenditures have been made in favor of this branch of 
government. An aerial ladder was added to the equipment of the 
fire department in 1888 immediately after the fire in the offices and 
composing rooms of the Daily Union. 

In 1893 the affairs of this department were placed in charge of 
a commission, under whose management the department has been 
eminently successful. The present equipment for fighting, and the 
discipline and morale of the force inspire a feeling of security to the 
citizens of Springfield. One of the first notable fires to occur in 
Springfield was the burning of the Armory buildings in 1824. On 
October 13, 1844, a disastrous fire occurred at the corner of Main and 
Sanford streets, resulting in the destruction of five buildings and eight 
stores. In the afternoon of May 30th, 1875, fire started in the plan- 
ing mill of H. M. Conkey & Company in Taylor street, and ex- 
tended to Main and Worthington streets. Bond place, Wight ave- 
nue, Vernon street, and Water street, burning fifty buildings of 
which thirty were dwellings, at a total loss of ;^596,300. 



loO Springfield Present and Prospective 

A fire in the building occupied by the Springfield Daily Union, 
corner of Main and Worthington streets, on March 7, 1888, spread 
so rapidly that many persons in the upper stories of the building were 
cut off from escape. Some of them jumped from the windows and 
were fatally injured, and others perished in the building. 

The city hall took fire about noon of January 6, 1905, and was 
rapidly consumed. 

Prior to 1843, the principal reliance for water for domestic pur- 
poses was on wells and springs; and for fire purposes the Town 
brook and the river were relied upon with the addition of storage 
cisterns. In the summer of 1843, Charles Stearns, an energetic and 
public-spirited man, suggested the propriety of establishing a system 
of waterworks; but failing to induce others to take hold of the enter- 
prise with him, he decided to enter single-handed upon the under- 
taking of constructing a general water system for the business section 
of the town. In August, 1843, he began the work of laying wooden 
main pipes from Van Horn reservoir to the Western railroad depot 
and down Main street to Bliss street, supplying dwellings, hotels 
and other buildings. This system remained in successful operation 
until 1848, when the Springfield aqueduct company was incorpo- 
rated; Charles Stearns, Festus Stebbins, George Hastings and their 
associates and successors being named as the incorporators "for the 
purpose of supplying the village of Springfield with pure water." 
This company maintained a water system until about i860, when 
the question of the water supply began to be agitated anew, which 
resulted in the city taking upon itself the burden of a water supply 
for the public. At first a system of wells was started on the hill, but 
was soon abandoned. In 1872, action was taken which resulted in 
the building of the Ludlow reservoir. This afforded an abundant 
supply; but the quality has not proved satisfactory. 

Public Buildings and Physical Development 
'HEN Hampden county was created in 1812, it became neces- 
sary to provide a suitable building in Springfield, the county 
seat, in which to hold the courts. The old court house built in 
1722-23 was unsuitable for the new county. Naturally differences 
of opinion arose as to the best spot upon which to erect the new 



W 




Hampden County Court House 




.SV^//(' Str. 




Old Jail and H igh School 



STATE STREET 




tri Elholt 




A Reminder of the I'ast 



E 'SEVENTIES 




The Law City Hall 



Springfield Present and Prospective lOl 

county building, and after due consideration of the question, Meet- 
ing House square was decided upon, and the building was erected 
in 1821 at a cost of $8,375. ^^ '^ "^"^ owned and occupied by the 
Odd Fellows. In size and style it was like those built for Berkshire 
and for Hampshire counties. It answered its purpose very satis- 
factorily until the necessity for more room demanded a change. 

The erection of the present — third — court house was authorized 
by the legislature in 1871, and it was finished and ready for use in 
1874. The duty to see to this work was with the county commis- 
sioners, none of whom were lawyers or had any practical experience 
or any definite idea of the proper construction of a court house, or 
of those things essential to its convenient use. Those whose business 
best qualified them to suggest points of practical importance either 
were not consulted, or their opinions, if expressed, were ignored. 
The building was not what it should have been, though costing the 
sum of ;^304,543, including land, building and furnishings, and few 
years have passed since its occupation in which the county has not 
expended large sums of money in necessary alterations. A plan is 
now on foot for additional structures to meet the growing need of 
the county. 

The late city hall was built in 1854 and dedicated January I, 
1855, and it answered the purpose for which it was designed fairly 
well. It housed the several departments of the city government, 
including at one time the police court room, and it housed the police 
department with lock-up accommodations. The school committee 
also had rooms in the building. Its ample audience room proved 
defective in acoustic qualities; but after several years of experiment- 
ing it was greatly improved in that respect. Its destruction by fire 
revealed the fact that it was a fire trap. Prior to its construction the 
most available assembly hall in Springfield was Hampden hall, 
occupying the second story of a building that stood on the present 
site of the Springfield Five Cents savings bank and the block imme- 
diately north of it. 

The old town hall building, still standing on the corner of State 
and Market streets, was used for the city's business block until the 
dedication of the city hall in 1855. In that building the police court 
held its sittings. 



102 Springfield Present and Prospective 

The old high school building stood on the site of the present 
police headquarters, and at the time of its devotion to that use was 
regarded as one of the most pretentious structures of its kind in the 
county. Its occupation for the high school extended from 1849 ^'^ 
1874, when the first regularly-known high school building was con- 
structed on State street. But as the city grew in population it proved 
insufficient to meet the requirements of the school, and in i8g8 the 
present beautiful high school building was erected on land purchased 
of the county. The city library building on State street was com- 
pleted in 1 87 1 by the City Library association, incorporated in 1864. 
The art building, near the city library, was completed in 1895, and 
the science building was built in 1898. 

The first jail in Springfield was built about 1662, and was located 
on the "road on the brow of the hill," now called Maple street. It 
was burned by the Indians, October 16, 1675, and was replaced in 
1677. A log jail once stood in the rear of the Old Gaol tavern, that 
stood partly on the site of the Union house. In 1813, the county 
purchased one and one-half acres of land on State street for ^500 
(now occupied by the new high school building), upon which a jail 
and a house of correction was erected at the cost of ;?i4,i64. This 
was used as a jail and house of correction until 1887, when it was 
abandoned for the building now used as a jail and house of correction 
on York street, the cost of which was $266,953.94. 

The Massachusetts Mutual life insurance company, incorporated 
May 15, 1851, with a guarantee capital of $100,000, had its office in 
No. 8 Foot's block, corner of Main and State streets. The greatest 
risk on a single life was limited to $5,000. The officers were Caleb 
Rice, president; E. D. Beach, vice-president; Francis B. Bacon, 
secretary; Harvey Danks, general agent; Alfred Lambert, M.D., 
medical examiner; |. M. Smith, M.D., consulting physician. In 
1856 the capital and surplus of this company was but $126,233.85. 

In 1851 the Hampden Mutual fire insurance company had its 
office in the second story of Foot's block, adjoining that of the Mutual 
life. Hon. John Mills was president; Hon. William B. Calhoun, 
vice-president; George W. Rice, secretary; William W. Lee, treas- 
urer. This company was crushed by the Portland fire. 

At this time the Springfield Institute for Savings occupied rooms 
on the second floor of Foot's block. The Hampden savings bank 





M View of Westjord Avenue -Looking up Je^erson Avenue 



Springfield Present and Prospective 103 

was incorporated and organized in 1852. The Springfield Five 
Cents savings bank was chartered and organized in 1854. The 
Mutual fire assurance company of Springfield was chartered and 
organized in 1827, and its place of business was in the Chicopee 
Bank building. 

The Springfield Fire and Marine insurance company was incor- 
porated in 1849. It occupied rooms at first in the City hotel build- 
ing. In 1858 it occupied the building that it had erected on the site 
of the old Pynchon fort. Now it occupies its magnificent building 
on State street. 

Hampden park was officially opened in October, 1857, with 
ceremonies in which the civic, military and fire organizations took 
part. 

Gas was introduced for lighting purposes in 1849, and electric 
light in 1887. Electricity as a motive power for street cars was 
applied in 1890. 

The first telephone appeared in 1879, following a demonstration 
here of his discovery by Professor Bell. 

For several years after the incorporation of the city, the general 
business transacted, such as stores, etc., persistently remained on 
Main street, and for the most part between the railroad and State 
street. The condition of the streets was not good during the early 
years of the city. Main street was often very muddy through its 
entire length, as were most of the streets branching from it in either 
direction. The proper surfacing of it was a puzzling problem for 
many years. An experiment was made somewhat early by block 
paving Main street from the railroad to Hampden street; but not 
being properly done it proved a failure and was abandoned. The 
principal material used on the street for several years was gravel. 
But the condition has gradually improved down to the present time. 

Touching the buildings located on Main street, the Massasoit 
house and the Goodrich block have not been materially changed 
since the fifties. Immediately below Hampden street on the west 
side of Main was a row of wooden buildings consisting in part of an 
ell detached from the Massasoit house and converted into small 
stores. Then came the Fort block, so called, on the site where the 
post-office stands. On the lower corner of Worthington street was 
the two-story residence of Doctor Chaffee. Further down was the 



104 Springfield Present and Prospective 

old North church, and below that, on the corner of Main and 
Bridge streets, was the somewhat pretentious mansion of Mrs. L. 
Trask, standing a little above the level of the street and surrounded 
by a substantial iron fence. On the lower corner of Bridge and Main 
streets was a substantial two-story dwelling, the residence of the 
Bond family. From this point down were several dwellings with 
ample yards and gardens down as far as Vernon street. The lot occu- 
pied now by the Haynes house and by the Forbes l^ Wallace block, 
was partly an open lot below the Barnes block now owned by Forbes 
y Wallace. Often in the fifties people would make a short cut across 
the open lot on their way to the court house. 

On the east side of Main street, from the railroad down, were 
some brick blocks of a type not wholly extinct. Between Worthing- 
ton and Bridge streets were some old frame buildings in a somewhat 
tumble-down condition, and used for some kinds of business — one of 
them being used for a tin and stove shop; and shortly above this 
building a daguerreian gallery on wheels was pushed in with the rear 
end to the street, and an active and probably successful business 
was carried on in it for several years. There were some buildings 
of like value and character on the Barnes lot at the junction of Main 
and Bridge streets. Barnes' lot was sometimes used as a pasture, 
extending from Main to Chestnut street, and was the usual place for 
firemen's musters, ball playing, and for circuses. This lot was thus 
open for several years after the incorporation of the city. Why did 
not the city buy the entire lot ? 

Early in the history of the town the strip of land lying between 
Main and Chestnut streets was a swamp. Whenever State street 
has been dug up between Main street and the foot of the hill, the 
logs used in constructing corduroy have been found at a considerable 
depth below the present level of the street. East of Main street 
below Park street, B. K. Bliss y Haven maintained with great 
success a greenhouse, garden and nursery. 

At the corner of Main and York streets stood a stone monument 
dressed into shape and lettered and marked to show the height of the 
water at that point at the time of the great flood of May I, 1854. 

In 1775, Moses Church was appointed postmaster in Springfield, 
and he established the office in a one-story building at the corner of 
Main and Court streets on ground now occupied by the Five Cents 





^Site of iiii J'' , .'(>ii Fuller Buildings corner of Bridge and Main Streets 

"^Old Chicopee Bank Buildings corner of Main and Elm Streets, shotving the old Exchange 
Hotel just beyond 




h^ 



O 



Springfield Present and Prospective IOC 

savings bank building, where he carried on the hat and fur business. 
The average rate of postage for letters is said to have been fifteen 
cents, but the writer remembers when letter postage was as high as 
twenty-five cents, and when it had dropped to ten cents, to five cents, 
to three cents and to two cents. In 1 792 Ezra W. Weld was appointed 
postmaster and he moved the office to the Hampshire Chronical 
establishment, of which he had charge, in a two-story building at 
the corner of Main and Elm streets, where the Chicopee bank 
building now stands. He was succeeded by James R. Hutchins in 
1793, and the office was moved to the corner of Main and Sanford 
streets, in a building where he conducted as editor the Federal Spy. 
In the following year Hutchins was succeeded by John W. Hooker. 
James Byers, Jr., was appointed postmaster January I, 1800; and 
the office was moved to a building on the east side of Main street, 
a short distance north of State. Daniel Lombard was appointed 
postmaster July 29, 1806, and moved the office to the corner of 
Main and Elm streets. In 1829, Lombard was succeeded by Albert 
Morgan, and the office was moved to the corner of State and Market 
streets, where it remained until 1834, when it was moved to the Elm 
street stores now owned by Newrie D. Winter, where it remained 
for thirty years under six successive postmasters. In 1842 Col. 
Solomon Warriner succeeded Morgan, and he in turn was succeeded 
in 1843 by Col. Harvey Chapin, who after a short service was suc- 
ceeded by Galen Ames. In 1845, under the administration of Presi- 
dent Polk, Colonel Chapin was again appointed and served until 
1849, when he gave place to William St owe. Abijah Chapin was 
made postmaster in 1853, but was removed in 1861 when Mr. Stowe 
was reappointed under Lincoln's administration. 

In 1866 the post-office was moved from Elm street to the Haynes 
hotel. Mr. Stowe dying in December, 1871, Gen. Horace C. Lee 
was appointed in January, 1872, and during his administration the 
office was moved to the Five Cents savings bank building. In 1884 
Edwin P. Chapin became postmaster, and on his resignation Col. 
John L. Rice was appointed, and the office was shortly afterwards 
moved to the Gilmore block, where it remained until the completion 
of the present post-office building in 1891. Col. Henry M. Phillips 
was appointed postmaster in 1890, and served until succeeded by 
John H. Clune in 1894. The present postmaster, Louis C. Hyde, 
was appointed in June, 1898. 



Io6 Springfield Present and Prospective 

The present post-office building was finished in 1891. The land 
on which it stands was purchased of the Cadwell heirs for $70,000, 
by citizens of Springfield who wished the building placed in that 
part of the city, and they sold it to the government for ^18,500. A 
sharp rivalry existed between those favoring the present location, 
and people favoring a location near the corner of Main and State 
streets. It was felt by many that the government was niggardly in 
its appropriation, throwing the principal burden of purchasing a lot 
for the new building upon the citizens. 

About this time, as the result of strenuous efforts, Springfield 
was made a port of entry, and the custom house is housed in the 
post-office building. As a natural outcome of this, there has been 
maintained to the present time persistent efforts to secure a re-opening 
of the river to navigation, but no crowning result has appeared. 
The government, however, treats it as a public highway subject to 
its jurisdiction in the matter of collecting license fees, but it utterly 
fails to keep the highway in suitable repair, allowing private inter- 
ests to override the right of the public to reasonably uninterrupted 
use of the river. 

The quarter-millennial celebration, Alay 25 and 26, 1886, was 
memorable in many ways. A committee of fifty of the leading 
citizens planned the work, and all the outlying towns that were 
formerly part of the old Springfield had special committees. 

The observance began with special services at all the churches 
on Sunday, the 25th, that at the historic First Congregational church 
being properly the most notable. The chapel was later in the week 
in charge of the loan exhibition committee, who had gathered there 
a wonderful collection of relics and heirlooms. 

An immense throng gathered at the city hall on Tuesday. Ex- 
Mayor William L. Smith, chairman of the citizens' committee, made 
preliminary remarks, introducing Judge Marcus P. Knowlton, the 
acting president of the day. The speakers who followed were 
Mayor Edwin D. Metcalf, Governor George D. Robinson, of Chic- 
opee, Hon. John L. Houston of Enfield, and Judge Henry Morris. 
The anniversary ode was read by its author. Judge William S. 
Shurtleff, and the anniversary hymn, written by E. Porter Dyer, 
was sung by the Orpheus club, who performed other music during 
the exercises. 




U. S. Post Ojfiif and Custom House 




Oi 

c 



Springfield Present and Prospective 107 

At the banquet to distinguished guests, which was given at the 
Massasoit house in the evening, the speakers included District 
Attorney George M. Stearns, Governor Robinson, Ex-Mayor Wil- 
liam H. Haile, Hon. A. E. Pillsbury, president of the state senate, 
Samuel Bowles, editor of the Republican, Dr. Thomas A. Pynchon 
of Hartford, Mayor O'Connor of Holyoke, David A. Wells, General 
H. C. Dwight of Hartford, United States Senator Dawes, Railroad 
Commissioner Kinsley, Rev. John Cuckson of Springfield and Rev. 
John Harding of Longmeadow. 

The second and final day of the celebration, Wednesday, opened 
with a concert by 2000 children in Court square. The big event of 
the day, the procession, started at i o'clock and was a most ambitious 
affair. In addition to the military, civic and society organizations 
of the city, and visiting military and other bodies, there were floats 
and costumed characters representing different periods in Spring- 
field's history. The day closed with band concerts in Court 
square, and a grand ball at the old city hall, now passed away with 
other landmarks. 

The city's golden jubilee began on Sunday, May 25, 1902, the 
anniversary day of incorporation, with special, services in the 
churches, and at the Court Square theatre in the evening there 
were notable addresses by Dr. Talcott Williams of Philadelphia, 
Congressman Frederick H. Gillett, Mayor Ralph W. Ellis, Lawyer 
E. H. Lathrop and Lawyer C. W. Bosworth. 

Court square was made the "court of honor," and was a memor- 
able spectacle, the scheme of decoration being snow-white pillars at 
intervals along the edge of the park, surmounted by flags and hung 
from one to another with festoons of evergreens and electric lights. 
When lighted up at night it was a scene of beauty not to be forgotten. 

The anniversary was chiefly marked by the completion of the 
fund of $100,000 for the extension of Court square to the river, the 
impulse being a $10,000 bequest from the late Tilly Haynes for that 
purpose, conditional upon the necessary sum being raised. Thus 
the thing that Tilly Haynes, George R. Townsley, N. A. Leonard, 
Samuel Bowles and other leading citizens talked of in their day was 
brought to a realization. No record of this enthusiastic rolling up 
in a few weeks of $90,000, to which sum the half-dollar contributor 
was as welcome as the man who gave a thousand, should pass without 



Io8 Springfield Present and Prospective 

mention of George Dwight Pratt, who was the most active force in 
inspiring the subscriptions, though it was also first in the heart and 
endeavor of Theodore L. Haynes and Everett H. Barney. 

Monday, May 26, was given over to the parades, through bril- 
liantly-decorated streets, of the militarv and civic bodies, societies 
and trade unions in which every organization in the city — French- 
Canadians, Italians, and all — took part. Band concerts and fire- 
works rounded out the day. The chairman of the day was the late 
Elisha Morgan, a direct descendant of the Miles Morgan, whose 
effigy on Court square silently witnessed the 250th anniversary of 
his early struggles. To Mr. Morgan's keen artistic sense and ad- 
ministrative ability was due much of the good taste of the decorations 
and the successful carrying out of the program. Mayor Ralph W. 
Ellis was vice-chairman and Elijah A. Newell, the city clerk and a 
civil war veteran, was secretary. The sub-committees represented 
the best of the executive ability of the city. 

Springfield in the Wars 
Opringiield is naturally a peaceful community; but when there 
^ was fighting to be done, there were always to be found men of 
Springfield. During the French and Indian wars, from 1744 to 
1760, in which New England bore so prominent a part, Springfield 
lost many citizens who went as soldiers and were killed. 

The local Indians were friendly till 1675, when, possibly because 
the knives and hatchets and hoes for which they had bartered their 
birthright had worn out, they became restive, and the memorable 
King Philip war broke out. For many a weary month an occupation 
that had to be reckoned in the day's duties was detaching Indian 
arrows from the person. The alertness of the settlers, led by Major 
John Pynchon, averted a massacre, but the town was burned by the 
Indians, October 16, 1 675. Arrows with burning brands and fire- 
balls were thrown on the roofs of the houses and barns and forts, 
and little but the forts was saved. 

In the Revolutionary war Springfield was a recruiting post and 
a depot for recruiting stores. Works for repairing arms were carried 
on, which led to the establishment of the national armory. The 
Boston alarm of September, 1774, set men drilling and marching in 
Springfield as elsewhere in New England. In April of the following 



Springfield Present and Prospective 109 

year the news of the battle of Lexington got to the Connecticut river 
settlements with wonderful promptness. Companies of men from 
Suffield, Longmeadow and_\Vest Springfield gathered in Springfield 
and with the Springfield men pressed to the front. From all accounts 
the streets and taverns were in an uproar of excitement. Many 
enlistments of Springfield men are recorded in this and succeeding 
years. They scattered among various regiments. The news of the 
Declaration of Independence aroused the village to intense enthusi- 
asm, and it is a legend that one farmer who was coming from West 
Springfield with a load of hay, when he heard the news touched a 
light to the hay and celebrated right on the spot. 

During the summer and autumn of 1780 there were gathered 
forty-two divisions of six-months' men who marched to the points 
where they were required as fast as they were ready for service. So 
Springfield at no time lacked intimate knowledge of the fray. 

Springfield had a little war of its own in 1786-87 when the 
locally famous Shays rebellion disturbed the equanimity of this and 
neighboring towns. The incitement to this uprising was the drastic 
action of the courts against delinquent debtors, and lawyers and 
judges were the objects of fierce denunciation. Hard times evidently 
followed the war of independence, for in the term of the court of 
common pleas in February, 1786, no less than three hundred and 
thirty-three cases of unhappy debtors were called up, and judgment 
obtained. The foreclosure of mortgages was an every-day event. 
Daniel Shays and Luke Day took radical steps in September, 1786, 
by interfering with the session of the Supreme Judicial court. 
Troops had been gathered under General Shepard, but they avoided 
a collision with the forces of Shays, which marched and counter- 
marched before the court house. The court adjourned without 
action against any of Shays' men and the October term of court at 
Great Harrington was abandoned. 

In January, 1787, Shays made a bold attempt to capture the 
federal arsenal at Springfield. He made a dash from Rutland with 
nearly 1,200 men, armed with guns, camping at Wilbraham. The 
women and children of that frightened town were transferred to 
Longmeadow for safety. The plan was to overpower General 
Shepard before Eastern troops, two days' march away, could get to 
his rescue. Other insurgents were camped at Chicopee and West 



no Springfield Present and Prospective 

Springfield, making nearly two thousand men who were to oppose 
General Shepard's one thousand. 

The Shays forces met the militia on the Boston road, within view 
of the Armory, the afternoon of January 25. Shays' arrangement 
with the other rebels had miscarried and they had not joined him. 
The first shots of the troops scattered the insurgents, and they fled 
in confusion, not even returning fire. Three men were killed and 
one wounded, and the war was ended. There were plenty of mut- 
terings and some small disturbances afterward, but peace came at 
length. 

In the second unpleasantness with England, beginning in 1812, 
Springfield was not eager for any more fighting, but when a British 
fleet was discovered off the New England coast in August, 1814, and 
there was a call for troops, Gen. Jacob Bliss started east with a 
militia brigade. They did not, however, participate in any engage- 
ment. 

The war spirit in Springfield from 1861 to '65 was, if anything, 
more active than in other cities. This being the headquarters of the 
supply of arms, the people felt the pulse of war palpably. Companies 
for several regiments were raised here, and the tenth, twenty-seventh 
and forty-sixth Massachusetts volunteers were encamped here before 
going to the seat of war. The Springfield City guard formed one of 
the companies. 

Judge Chapman called to order the first war rally in April, 1861. 
The city government voted $30,000 for volunteers. The destruction 
of the Harper's Ferry armory left the Springfield arsenal the main 
resourse of the government for a time. 

These Springfield men officered companies in the Tenth Massa- 
chusetts regiment: Captain, Hosea C. Lombard; 1st lieutenant, 
Hiram A. Keith; 2d lieutenant, George W. Bigelow, all of the 
Springfield City guard; Captains Joseph K. Newell, Homer G. 
Gilmore, Frederick Barton, Edwin L. Knight, and George W. 
Bigelow; ist lieutenant and adjutant, Oliver Edwards; chaplain, 
Rev. Frederick A. Barton. 

In the Twenty-seventh Massachusetts: Colonel, Horace C. Lee; 
surgeon, George A. Otis; captains, Walter G. Bartholomew, Gusta- 
vus A. Fuller and Horace K. Cooley; 1st lieutenants Edward K. 
Wilcox, Peter S. Bailey, George Warner and John W. Trafton; 




Home of the State Militia 




1^ 










CO 




CO 



Springfield Present and Prospective III 

2d lieutenants, W. Chapman Hunt, Ira B. Sampson and William 
A. White. Captain Bartholomew became lieutenant-colonel and 
E. K. Wilcox captain. He was killed at Cold Harbor and is memor- 
ized in E. K. Wilcox post of the Grand Army. 

The Forty-sixth Massachusetts had a Springfield man, Colonel 
Walker, in command of the camp, and Company A was an all-Spring- 
field organization with Samuel B. Spooner as captain, Lewis A. Tifft 
1st lieutenant, and D. J. Marsh 2d lieutenant. William S. ShurtlefF 
also became lieutenant-colonel, after enlisting as a private. He 
became colonel in 1863. 

The Thirty-seventh Massachusetts regiment, organized at Pitts- 
field, had many Springfield men and officers, and there were several 
companies in other regiments partly manned and officered by sons of 
Springfield. The city's death list in the war numbered 167. 

The war with Spain in 1898 is vivid in memory, because our 
three companies of Massachusetts volunteer militia were among the 
first to be called to Cuba. The day they marched to the depot the 
streets were packed with people, but there was very little cheering. 
There were too many there whose memories of the previous war 
were yet painful, and the younger folk were oppressed with the 
solemnity of the sight when men they knew were marching to battle. 
Companies B, G and K were in action at El Caney, when Santiago 
was taken, and Springfield gave of its youth, from death on the field, 
froin wounds and disease, twenty-one, while half a score more have 
since died from the effects of the hardships and fevers of that 
campaign. Of these was Captain Henry McDonald, city marshal 
of Springfield. 

Among the tenderest memories of the late Henry S. Lee is the 
untiring zeal with which he looked after the welfare of the Springfield 
boys in this war, solacing the families of those who perished, and 
personally seeing that those who came home invalided had the best 
of care and treatment. 

The official roster of the second regiment and Springfield com- 
panies was as follows: 

Field Staff and Non-Commissioned Staff: Colonel, Embury P. Clark; 
major, Frederick G. Southmayd; adjutant, ist lieutenant, Paul R. Hawkins; 
quartermaster, 1st lieut., Edward E. Sawtell; major and surgeon, Henry 
C. Bowen; major and surgeon, Ernest A. Gates. 



112 Springfield Present and Prospective 

B Company — Captain, Henry McDonald; ist lieutenant, William J. 
Young; 2d lieutenants, Harry J. Vesper and Thomas F. Burke. 

G Company — Captain, John J. Leonard; 1st lieutenant, William C. 
Hayes; 2d lieutenant, Edward J. Leyden. 

K Company — Captain, William S. Warriner; 1st lieutenant, Philip C. 
Powers; 2d lieutenant, Harry H. Parkhurst. 

H Company, Naval Brigade, were called to duty, and were as- 
signed chiefly to the auxiliary cruiser Prairie, but were not in serious 
action. The officers were assigned as follows: Lieut. Jenness K. 
Dexter, U. S. S. Russell; Lieut. Henry S. Grossman, U. S. S. Prairie; 
Lieut. William O. Cohn, U. S. S. Lehigh. 

General Lawton camp, Spanish war veterans, was organized to 
keep alive the brotherhood of our last war. 

The United States Armory 

No HISTORY of Springfield is complete without a story of the 
Armory, which has been an important factor in the city's life 
and progress. It is recorded that when George Washington passed 
through Springfield in October, 1789, he saw and approved of the 
present site of the Armory. Congress passed an act establishing it 
in April, 1794, and buildings were soon after erected on the Hill and 
on Mill river, the latter department still retaining its old name, 
"the Watershops." 

The manufacture of small arms began in 1795 with a force of 
forty hands, and a production of 245 muskets the first year, and for 
over one hundred years it has been carried on without interruption, 
except when the main buildings of the Armory were burned in 1824. 

No less than a score of different models of muskets have been 
made in that time. The first guns were the French model, and the 
King's and Queen's arms, English models. The former had a small 
calibre, short barrel and light stock, and, for those days, was a hand- 
some gun. The King's and Qiieen's arms were heavy, long-barreled, 
large-bore guns, and favorites with the Lidians, one of whom, ac- 
cording to legend, expressed his preference for "big gun, big noise, 
big bullet." The first American model was made, with flint lock, in 
1822 and improved in 1840. In 1842 the flint lock was abandoned 
and the percussion lock adopted, and a proud historian states in 
the Springfield Directory of 1848 that it was "confidently believed 




On GunrJ at the Armory 



Springfield Present and Prospective II3 

that the arms made at this armory since the adoption of the percus- 
sion lock are not equaled by any other establishment in the world." 
The new model was used in the Mexican war. 

A model usually bore the name of the year in which it was adopt- 
ed. The 1855, or Maynard primer model, was used effectively by 
the regular army in frontier engagements with the Indians. Of this 
model, when the great war of the North and South began, only about 
40,000 had been made, many of which had been already distributed 
to the army, so that until the 1862 model could be made and put in 
the field, the Union volunteers had to take what guns could be got — 
Enfields, Austrians, Belgians, flint-locks, rifles, fowling pieces; any- 
thing, indeed, in the shape of a gun. 

A large increase in the Armory force and the addition of new 
buildings followed the outbreak of the war. In 1864 there were 
3,400 men employed and 1,000 guns a day turned out. At the time 
Fort Sumter was fired on, 1,000 guns a month were made, but the 
production was steadily increased till the same quantit)^ was finished 
every twenty-four hours, the works running day and night. Daily 
shipments of 1,000 guns were sent to quartermasters in different 
parts of the country. The payroll at this time amounted to over 
;jS200,ooo a month, and the foundation of the home of many a thrifty 
Springfield mechanic was laid in those years of trouble. 

In 1873 the breech-loader model was perfected, and many im- 
provements were added in the next twenty years. The Krag-Jorgen- 
sen gun was adopted in 1892, and this model was modified in 1898 
from experience gained by its use in the Spanish war. The later 
model has been generally supplied to the regular troops and the 
militia, but in the case of the "regulars" this is being replaced by 
the 1903 model, or United States magazine rifle, a gun that will shoot 
farther and more frequently than any yet produced. A new sight 
and a new model of bayonet made for fighting service, are recent 
features. 

The present output of guns is about three hundred a day, some 
1,400 men, working eight hours, being employed. The monthly 
payroll in recent years runs from $75,000 to ;? 130,000. 

Before the civil war there were four arsenals that were used solely 
for the storage of small arms and their appendages. In i860, under 
Capt. George Dwight, the middle arsenal was converted into a 
workshop, and later in the war, when guns were shipped as fast as 



114 Springfield Present and Prospective 

produced, the east and west arsenals were used as work shops. The 
main arsenal was built in 1846 under the superintendency of Colonel 
Ripley, and has a storage capacity of about 300,000 guns, 100,000 
on each floor. The total storage room of all the arsenals packed to 
repletion is 1,000,000 stands of arms. It was of this that Longfellow 
wrote, to quote again from his much-quoted poem: 

This is the arsenal. From floor to ceiling, 
Like a huge organ, rise the burnished arms; 

But from their silent pipes no anthem pealing 
Startles the villages with strange alarms. 

Ah! what a sound will rise, how wild and dreary, 
When the death-angel touches those swift keys; 

What loud lament and dismal miserere 
Will mingle with their awful symphonies! 

The visitor to the Armory enters the grounds at the southern 
corner, passing the uniformed guard at the gatehouse, and ascending 
a short hill reaches the plateau where most of the buildings are situ- 
ated. Keeping to the right he passes the officers' quarters, the 
barracks, the guard house, the middle arsenal and the east arsenal, 
all on the southeast side of Union square. Northerly is the long 
building occupied by the ordnance storekeeper, the general offices, 
the milling department, etc. Along the noith side of the square, 
fronting Federal street, are the machine, stocking, filling, polishing, 
carpenter and paint shops. Across Federal street, looking east, is 
the experimental department. 

The arsenal and tower, and some of the other buildings, are open 
to the public during working hours, the condition being a pass, 
procured at the office. The tower commands a superb view of the 
city and vicinity, and it is one of the points of interest that strangers 
in Springfield rarely fail to visit. 

Col. ¥. H. Phipps, colonel ordnance department, is the present 
commanding officer. There are four assistant officers, and the post 
has a garrison of sixty men. 

Springfield's Growth 

THE city is growing in population, in beauty and in building, as 
never before in its history. To show the increase in ratio of 
population it is only necessary to refer to census figures for the past 



Springfield Present and Prospective I15 

century. In 1 8 10 the population of Springfield was 1,267; •" 1820 
it was 3,914; in 1830 they counted 6,784; in 1837 there were revealed 
9,234; in 1843, 10,985; in 1850, 11,330; in 1852, 12,498; in i860, 
15,200; in 1870, 26,703; in 1885, 37,575; in 1895, 51,512; in 1900, 
62,059, and the census of 1905 showed a population of 73,484, a 
growth in the past five years of 2,285 a year. A continuance of this 
ratio of growth will make it a city of 100,000 in ten years more. 

The buildings now in process of completion and the buildings 
planned for immediate erection form an unusual development in 
Springfield's growth. Most important of these are the Fire and 
and Marine insurance company's handsome new home at the corner 
of State and Maple streets, which is to be followed by a new ofiice 
building for the Massachusetts Mutual life insurance company at 
the corner of .State and Main streets, the present site of the Foot 
block; the Springfield Institution for Savings is to have a new home 
on Elm street, the county of Hampden will build a hall of records 
adjoining the court house, the Odd Fellows are to have a temple 
on Pynchon street, a large assembly hall is in prospect, and a new 
city hall, of architecture in keeping with the dignity of the city, is 
in the immediate future; likewise a new building for the City library, 
toward which Andrew Carnegie has given $150,000. 

Springfield's development in business and manufacturing Imes 
is constant. The post-office ranks next to Boston's among the Mas- 
sachusetts cities in the percentage of net receipts, and in gross 
receipts it leads all other cities and towns of New England. The 
gross receipts in 1904 were $294,724. 

Five lines of railroad fetch and carry freight and passengers to 
and from Springfield, and the volume of business grows steadily. 
The street railway carried nearly 19,000,000 passengers over its 
ninety-four miles of track in 1904, and yet there were some that 
couldn't get seats. 

Evidences of the city's material prosperity are found in the one 
thousand manufacturing concerns, engaging $20,000,000 of capital, 
paying out $8,000,000 yearly in wages and salaries, using material 
amounting to $12,000,000 and producing goods to the value of 
$30,000,000. Among these products, those most famous, in fact 
known all over the world, are Webster's dictionary, the Smith ^ 
Wesson revolver, the Barney y Berry skate, the Wason car, and 
the United States army rifle. 



Il6 Springfield Present and Prospective 

The total assessed property of the city is about S8o,ooo,ooo; the 
property exempt, used for school, county and government purposes, 
is about $4,000,000. 

The deposits of the eight national banks and two trust companies 
amounted in a recent statement to nearly $17,000,000, showing an 
increase often per cent in the past ten years. The surplus in the 
same ran to nearly $900,000. 

The followmg editorial, a remarkable prophecy of Springfield's 
development, and as true in other respects today as it was half a 
century ago, appeared in the Republican January 27, 1853: 

Those who have seen other valleys and lived in other lands can only 
appreciate the surpassing beauty and loveliness of the Connecticut vallev, 
its desirableness as a home, its advantages for acquiring competence and 
wealth and the profusion ot intellectual and moral pnvdeges which it enjo^•s. 
This thought occurs to us, always when we hear a )oung man expressing his 
discontent with the "slow East" and his wish to mingle in the gigantic enter- 
prises of the Western States or to unite with the sturdy pioneers who are 
founding a mighty empire on the Pacific Coast. No land in the world is 
more productive, or can be made more productive than the bottom lands 
of the Connecticut. No valley is more abundant in its natural facilities 
for mechanical and manufacturing enterprises. Holvoke alone has water 
power enough, if employed, to support 100,000 persons, while Thompson- 
ville, Chicopee, Indian Orchard, South Hadley, Mittineague, Jencksville, 
Leeds Village, Haydenville, Greenfield and numerous other points have 
water power enough to form the nuclei of cities. These are scattered 
through the valley, every rod of which can be transformed into a garden 
for the supply of the wants of a dense population. The hills that roll up 
on either side afford pasturage for cattle, and the products of the stall and 
the dairy alike have even now but to be taken to the manufacturing points 
we have indicated to be changed into gold. 

But we are told that the growth of the population and the development 
of the natural resources of the valley are slow. Pray, how old is the valley 
in settlement and enterprise ? Go back only 20 years — where were Cabot- 
ville, Mittineague, Indian Orchard, Greenfield and the host of other points 
now alive with busy manufacturing life 1 Go back 30 years — where were 
Chicopee Falls, Haydenville, Thompsonville and the test : It strikes us 
that the growth has been fast and that it promises with the accumulating 
strength of capital and experience to be faster still. New branches of 
manufacture have been struck out and fortunes have been made and are 
still making. Look at the improvements that have been made for the 
transportation of manufactures, merchandise and passengers. Eighty years 




t^ 




J^ 



t^ 





' Oxford Apartment House - Municipal Building 



Springfield Present and Prospective 117 

ago nothing but the slow coach and the still slower sailboat were engaged 
in the transportation of merchandise and passengers up and down the river. 
Now a splendid railroad runs almost literally by every man's door from 
Springfield to the fountain sprmg of the river, within a day's walk of the 
Canadian line. Has this been slow stretching ? Nay, are not other roads 
already planned to run out into by-places among the hills and along the 
valleys of tumbling streams .' 

Thus much for the physical advantages and developments of the valley, 
but to the mind that regards life in its higher objects and relations there 
are other and higher advantages which in comparison with those enjoyed 
by newer localities leave us far above them. Where else in the broad earth 
can be found a more beautiful stream than the Connecticut, a more beauti- 
ful valley than its waters or a more beautiful background to rise up and 
meet the sky ? Where can we find more beautiful homes ? Above all, 
where have education, religion, refinement, taste and all the elements of 
an elevated civilization been more prospered than here ? There is a church 
on every hill, a schoolhouse in every valley, a lyceum in every neighborhood, 
a newspaper in every house, while colleges and seminaries and academies 
can be seen from each other's spires. 

It is to these things that those who wished to go faster and who in 
order to accomplish their wishes, went to new countries always look back 
with regretful eye. The elevated and educated society, the sound of the 
"church-going bell" in the clear Sabbath mornings, the lecture room, the 
convenient schoolhouse — all these things come before the mind of the 
emigrant as he stands by the side of his cavern in the woods with his uned- 
ucated children around him. Privileges like those enjoyed here are often 
sold for countless gold. They weave the very crown of life and endow the 
poorest among us with riches far above the price of rubies. We believe 
that the Connecticut Valley is destined to a full development of its immense 
physical resources while we prize altogether beyond these material advan- 
tages the moral, social, educational, political and religious privileges enjoyed 
here by all. The habits of lite engendered by the prevailing spirits of our 
institutions and growing out of the very fact that no man looks for sudden 
wealth, contribute most essentially to happiness, manliness and true worldly 
prosperity. 

Judge A. M. Copeland and Edwin Dwight 



Il8 Springfield Present and Prospective 



Our Soldier Citizen: A Tribute 

The soldiers' monument in Court square, given by Gurdon Bill to the Grand Army, was 
dedicated September 29, 1885, with an appropriate honoring ceremonial. The veterans of the 
Union army marched in procession; there was music of bands; Col. S. C. Warriner made 
surrender of the monument to the city, and Col. WJliam S. ShurtlefT in a speech of beautiful 
eloquence accepted the duty of transfer, while Mayor Hemy M. Phillips briefly received the 
charge. Elijah A. Newell recited the record of Springfield in the war. The ode by Charles'G. 
Whiting was read by Alfred P. Burbank, then a noted public reciter, whose noble voice and 
intellectual expression gave the lines full value. Afterward came the oration of Gen. Joseph 
R. Hawley, one of the best he ever made, which closed with Lincoln's Gettysburg oration, as 
Hawley's Habit was. The ode follows: 

THE soldier citizen of America! 
So as he marched, so as he stood on guard 
In our heroic age, 
So wrought in bronze on pedestal of stone 
Stands his emphatic figure sentinel 
High in the elms the shade of whose young boughs 
Swayed over Washington — 
That man of all most lofty and benign. 
Leader ot generals, master of statesmen, 
Great citizen, great soldier of America! — 
What time, well-nigh a century ago, 
He journeyed through the land he freed. 
And rested here. 

Above the people's common he keeps ward, — 
The people's soldier; 
And o'er the streets through whose applauding throngs 
By companies, by regiments, they marched to war, 

The men whose deeds he honors. 
Bone of their bone, flesh of their flesh, soul of their soul, 

the people spared, — 
And glad and proud were they to spare their best. 
And glad and proud their best to go. 

O not for pride of rule, vain victory or conquest, 
They went from home and friends, and left the arts of peace. 
Their patriot purpose deeper rooted was, 
More broadly swelled and more sublimely soared, 
Than ever patriots' had since time began. 
God's love to man, 



Springfield Present and Prospective II9 

The freedom of the world, 

Hope of all peoples that were yet to be 

That starry banner bore. 

With high resolve and fiery urge 

Our sons, our brothers, fought and fell; 
Heart, brain and life, in battle's surge 

We launched them all, for fires of hell 
Alone should burn hell's curse away. 
In lurid dawn for freedom's day! 

Yea, then we did behold, 
As in the wondrous vision of the seer. 

The opening of the seals! 
The angels from high heaven descended swift, 
Earth with their glory grew intolerably bright! 
And He that Faithful and True is called. 
Who in righteousness judgeth and maketh war. 
Who treadeth the wine press of fierceness and wrath 

Of God, the Almighty, — 
He bowed the heavens and came down! 
And lo! the nation that dealt wickedly 
Trembled beneath the terror of his sword. 
And set the bondman free. 

God's wrath 
Strode o'er the land: 

His lightnings smote, his thunders volleyed, and his floods 
Were ruddy currents of our dearest blood. 
And dread anxiety savored all our meat; 
Grief was our bedfellow, and rose 
Before the dawn to cry to all 
Weep! for the dead that are! and yet again. 
Weep! for the dead that shall be! 

The earth shook with the tread of armed men, 

And all the cope of heaven with their cries 

Resounded: as the Revelator said 

The noise of their shoutings as the noise 

Of many waters was; their songs 

Were prophecies; and the fateful march 

Of John Brown's soul 
Echoed, reechoed to the listening world 
Christ's gospel writ anew in blood and fire and tears! 



I20 Spnngfeld Present and Prospective 

Not against flesh and blood 
The Union warriors wrestled in that strife; 
The rulers of the darkness of this world, 
The principalities and powers of ill, 
These drew rebellion on, and led the blinded hosts. 
Ours was the right, the surety and the pledge 

Of all the Nation's future; 
Ours was the right, ours also was the power; 
What could they do — 
Our mad, misguided countrymen ? — 
Valiantly fight, most fortunately fail. 

For them all that we knew 
Of war's bereavement; for them too 
Were households filled with mourning; 
For them moreover ravage and despoilment. 
And plundered, drained, exhausted commonwealths; 
For them the bitterest of all, — 

Defeat's dark draught, 
And their wild dream destroyed! 

What in the process of the ages means 

This dire displacement of a nation's force. 

One half against the other? 

Never before did civil war end thus: 

It was a triumph where the victor said 

"My foe is still my brother!" 
No hideous gallows rises to forbid 
The fellowship of Federal and Confederate; 
Foiled for the mighty purposes of God 
The schemes of faction faint; 
And ere the memories of battle cease 
The end of battle's won! 

For out of the odor of powder and striking of steel, 
Out of the musketry rattle and screaming of shells. 
Out of the combats of iron-clads, the clearing of rivers and 

silencing forts by the ships. 
Out of the prison privation and anguish of wounds, 
Out of the weeping of women and fury of fight. 
Out of the foam of the fiery sea. 
Out of the stress of the storm, — 
New-born emerges the Union! 




5 

Co 




Memorial Hall 



Springfield PresetJt and Prospectk 



121 



Shapes that shamed her in her past 

Sling and stab her as they flee; 

For the slave that war made free 

Slowly grows in liberty; 

And his lord as well as he 

Limps within the fetters cast 

Over both bv slavery — 

Broken, brutal though they be. 

Forms of evil vaguely vast 

Frown upon her destiny; 

Venomed vermin, worst and last. 

In her path void anarchy: 

All shall fade before the blast 

Blown from where God's throne sits fast, 

Bearing law with liberty! 

In every age 
God hath his chosen people. 
The final gospel of the race 
He gives to us; within our gates 
Shall bloom and fruit a nobler golden age; 
Man unto man be brother, nor usurp 
Place, privilege and power; 

Woman with man share sway, and rise with man 
To clearer air, diviner heights, 
That strength and gentleness in holy league 
Our social order fill and purify. 

In freedom lapped and founded in His fear, 

Fashioned from out the nations of the earth. 

Fused in the furnaces of war. 

Wrought of fine gold with many a strange alloy. 

Wearing the warrant of His signet stamp. 

The crowning splendor of humanity. 

Behold our State! 

And this to thee, O soldier citizen! 

To thee we owe! 
Whether in battle perished, and bestowed 
Beneath the soil their sacred blood bedewed; 
Or borne unto their homes, worn with disease. 
And sepultured amid the sobs of friends; 
Or dying full of years, and honors earned 



122 Springfield Present and Prospective 

In works of peace to mend the waste of war; 
Or living, laboring, honoring the land, — 
Our neighbors in the shop, the court, the church, 
Or on the farms or in the nation's halls, — 
To all we owe the priceless debt, 
Theirs are the hands that did preserve the State, — 
The soldier citizens of America! 

O never shall the State forget 
The heroes of her trial hour 

That sprang to arms, nor counted life their own. 
Nor held their dearest sacrifice too dear 
Beside the nation's peril; 
When He that sitteth in the heavens spake 
And summoned forth his servants, and they came 
Ordained of Him and by his Spirit dowered, — 
His messengers of justice. 

O never shall the State forget 
Her soldiers and their famous chiefs! 
The man whose brows the martyr's glory lights, 
Who with sublime divining led 

The way of God's decrees, — 
That stern and gentle, strong and patient soul, 
Th' incarnate conscience of the people's life: 
And he, the captain of the strife, 
Who struck no blow for selfish fame, 
And only saw in war the path to peace; 
Who in the grasp of Death 
Found his true triumph and immortal joy 
As North and South in him were reconciled, — 
The greatest soldier of America, — 

The Conqueror of Peace! 

Charles Goodrich Whiting 




Co 







DR. SAMUEL G. BUCKINGHAM 



RELIGIOM-AMD 
CHARITIES 




HE men who came to live in Springfield in 1636, unlike 
the first settlers of many New England towns, were not 
accompanied by a minister, nor were they organized 
as a church. They made it evident that this state of 
affairs seemed to them to need a remedy, if not an 

apology, for they put the following declaration at the beginning of 

their agreement: 

" lly. We intend, by God's grace, as soon as we can, with all convenient 
speede, to procure some Godly and faithfull minister, with whome we pur- 
pose to joyne in church covenant, to walk in all the ways of Christ." 

Having thus cleared their consciences, they were ready to plan 
how as many as fifty families might live together in harmony, if 
they should finally decide to allow more than forty homes in their 
community. But they did not rest content with an expression of 
purpose. In 1637, Rev. George Moxon was a householder in Spring- 
field, and, although the early records have been lost, there is little 
doubt that the church was organized in that same year. Mr. Moxon 
shared the fortunes of the little community for fifteen years, but when 
Deacon William Pynchon was accused of heresy, in 1652, and re- 
turned to England, Mr. Moxon went with him. Then ensued a 
period of difficulties under which a less resolute company of people 
would have given up the attempt to maintain a church. Seven years 
passed during which no pastor could be found. Several ministers 
preached, and efforts were made to induce some of them to stay, but 
most of the time the deacons officiated. The discouragement of 
the people was reflected in the vote of the town inviting Rev. Peletiah 
Glover to be the minister of Springfield, wherein they promised to 



124 Springfield Present and Prospective 

pay him a salary of ;f6o if he would stay a year. He stayed a gene- 
ration — from 1659 till his death in 1692. The next pastor, Daniel 
Brewer, was thirty-seven years in office. Then followed the settle- 
ment of Rev. Robert Breck, who was opposed by a minority of the 
parish and who was ordained only after an exciting struggle involving 
almost all the prominent ministers in New England as well as the 
General Court of Massachusetts. After this severe storm the air 
soon cleared, and Mr. Breck served as pastor, to universal satisfac- 
tion, for forty-eight years. Other pastors of long service were 
Bezaleel Howard (twenty-four years) and Samuel Osgood (forty-five 
years). Doctor Osgood is still remembered by the older residents 
of the city, having served till his death in 1854. 

Doctor Osgood's pastorate was the era of development in the 
church life of Springfield. When he began preaching in the First 
church it was the only church in Springfield, though a weak Method- 
ist society occasionally secured a preacher for a service in the Water- 
shops district. When he retired there were not less than ten strong 
churches in the city, four of which had directly sprung from his own. 
The present pastor of the First church is Rev. Frank L. Goodspeed, 
Ph.D. 

"The Second society of the First parish in Springfield" was set 
off by the Legislature in 1818, the petitioners for the act declaring 
that the}' could no longer profit by the ministrations of Doctor 
Osgood. The founders of this society did not formally avow Uni- 
tarian belief, though it was understood that their action was due to 
their restlessness under the unflinching orthodoxy of the minister of 
the First church. The separation appears to have taken place with 
much less ill feeling than was manifested in many other towns. 

The organization of the other three churches was due simply to 
the growth of Springfield. January 8, 1833, the "Fourth Congrega- 
tional church" was formed to meet the need of "the Armory village 
on the Hill." The second church was that in Chicopee street, Chico- 
pee being then included in Springfield township, and the third was 
the Church of the Unity. The Fourth church, after twenty years' 
use of its numerical designation, elected to call itself Olivet, and after 
another twenty years its name was confirmed by the Legislature. 
The Olivet edifice was erected in 1834, and has long been known by 
the men in the Armory across the street as "the double-barreled 



Springfield Present and Prospective 1 25 

church," on account of its two towers. Its most notable pastorate 
has been that of Rev. Luther H. Cone, D.D., who was settled as 
pastor in 1867. He became pastor emeritus in 1898, retiring to New 
Haven, where he still lives. Rev. Rufus S. Underwood is now serv- 
ing the church as pastor. 

In the early forties, the coming of railroads to Springfield caused 
a rapid growth of the population, and the South church was formed 
in 1842, the North church following four years later, its founders 
being actuated by their zeal for the anti-slavery cause. The first 
building of the South parish stood on Bliss street, its present edifice 
at the corner of Maple and High streets having been built in 1874. 
The first pastor was Noah Porter, Jr., afterward president of Yale 
college; while his successor, Samuel G. Buckingham, D.D., who 
served from 1847 till 1885, and remained pastor emeritus till his 
death in 1898, was for many years one of the foremost citizens of 
Springfield. The present pastor is Rev. Philip S. Moxom, D.D. 

The North church also numbers two names of more than ordinary 
distinction in the list of its pastors — President L. Clark Seelye, of 
Smith college, and Washington Gladden, D.D., of Columbus, Ohio, 
the present moderator of the National Council of Congregational 
Churches in the United States. This church, after worshiping for a 
time in various more or less available places, erected its first building 
on the west side of Main street, north of Bridge street, and dedicated 
it in 1849. The building now used by the church, on Salem street, 
facing Elliott, was dedicated in 1873. The pastor is Rev. Newton 
M. Hall. 

South church has been the mother of two other Congregational 
churches, having started mission Sunday schools and erected chapels 
on Union street and Long Hill. The Union street Sunday school 
was organized in 1865, the chapel was built in 1870, and in 1876 
Hope church was recognized as an independent body under the 
pastoral care of Rev. Charles L. Morgan. In 1 881, Mr. Morgan was 
succeeded by Rev. David Allen Reed, under whose leadership the 
church grew rapidly, erected its present house of worship at State 
and Winchester streets, and sent out three colonies to form other 
churches. The mother church continued to grow, however, and is 
now under the pastorate of Rev. Samuel H. Woodrow, D.D., the 
second in number of members among the Congregational churches. 



126 Springfield Present and Prospective 

Faith church, the other daughter of South church, was maintained 
as a mission for a long time, the development of the city in the direc- 
tion of Long Hill being more delayed. The church organization 
was accomplished in 1894, and the church has since had steady and 
healthy growth. Its building, at the corner of Sumner and Fort 
Pleasant avenues, is centrally located, and the church is sure to be- 
come one of the strongest in Springfield. Its pastor is Rev. D. Butler 
Pratt. 

The three churches that sprang from Hope church under Mr. 
Reed's ministry are the Eastern Avenue (1888), at the corner of 
Eastern avenue and Chapel street, which has had a hard but brave 
struggle against adverse conditions; the Park (i88g), at the corner of 
St. James avenue and Clarendon street, which after many vicissi- 
tudes seems now to be firmly established; and Emmanuel (1889), 
which was started as a mission as early as 1881, and which, though 
not yet wholly self-supporting, is universally regarded as a most 
promising undertaking. Its location at the corner of Orange and 
White streets gives it access to the rapidly increasing population of 
the Watershops district as well as to the eastern end of the Forest 
park section. The list of Congregational churches in Springfield 
includes also the Union Evangelical church at Indian Orchard. Its 
first organization was in 1848, and its building was completed in 
1863. 

The origin of the Church of the Unity has already been noted. 
The first minister of the new parish, Rev. William B. O. Peabody, 
impressed his strong personality not only on his own congregation 
but upon the city. His pastorate lasted twenty-seven years. The 
first building of this parish stood at the corner of State and Willow 
streets. Its present building on State street, opposite the city library, 
was completed in 1869 from designs by H. H. Richardson. This 
edifice is perhaps generally considered the most beautiful public 
building in Springfield. Among the prominent ministers of this 
parish should be mentioned Francis Tiffany, the well-known literary 
critic and essayist, and A. D. Mayo, whose services in behalf of edu- 
cation have made his name honorable. The present pastor is Rev. 
Arthur P. Reccord. 

The date of the founding of the first Methodist church in Spring- 
field is given as 1795, though services had been held by Bishop Asbury 



^ 




-m 




<•«"<* » 

^-7^ 




^^msMd^ 



J. ..t-Jr.XJL::^ 



First Church on Court Square 




South Congregational Church 




North Congregational Church 




Hupe (^ongtegutionul CJiiuih 



Springfield Present and Prospective 127 

and several itinerants as early as 1791. The followers of Methodism 
were few but determined, and at last in 1815 were granted recognition 
as a station of the Tolland (Connecticut) circuit. Four years later 
a preacher was appointed for Springfield, and services were held alter- 
nately on Armory Hill and at the Watershops, where the work had 
first gained a foothold, and where in 1820 a Methodist chapel was 
erected. In 1823, a church was built on Union street, and work at 
the chapel became intermittent, sometimes being entirely suspended 
and at other times being carried on by a separate church organiza- 
tion. At last, in i860, the Florence Street church, now known as the 
Asbury First Methodist Episcopal church, was reorganized. The 
Methodist polity does not allow long pastorates, and comparatively 
few of the ministers of the Methodist churches have left distinctly 
traceable personal impress on the life of the city. One of the pastors 
of Asbury church. Rev. Joseph Scott, is still, in his superannuation, 
a prominent figure in the life of the city. Others, like Dr. Daniel 
Dorchester and Doctor Raymond, have won high rank as leaders in 
their own denomination. The pastor of the Asbury church is Rev. 
Henry L. Wriston. 

The Union Street church moved in 1873 to the corner of State 
and Myrtle streets, and became known as the State Street Methodist 
church. It had a series of able and eloquent preachers in its pastor- 
ates, and was recognized among the leading churches of the city. 
This position it held until in 1899 it was merged with St. Luke's 
church, which had been organized ten years before, worshiping in a 
building on Bay street near Westminster. The new organization was 
named Wesley Methodist Episcopal church, and its building at 741 
State street, opposite Buckingham, is famous as a model of conven- 
ience. Its arrangement for Sunday-school work is especially note- 
worthy for excellence. The union of the two churches was brought 
about under the pastorate of Rev. Charles F. Rice, D.D., whose 
father, as city librarian, and grandfather, as register of probate, had 
rendered conspicuous service to Springfield. Doctor Rice has only 
this year left the pastorate of Wesley church, to become presiding 
elder of the Cambridge district of the New England conference. 
Rev. C. C. P. Hiller is the present pastor. 

The Pynchon Street church, organized in 1844, worshiped in its 
first building for twenty-five years, though not without enlargement, 



128 Springfield Present and Prospective 

but in 1869 moved to Bridge street, changing its name to Trinity 
church. It has high rank among the strong down-town churches of 
the city, and has always been noted for its agressive spirit, the latest 
testimony to which is its plan to build a chapel on Liberty street for 
the use of a mission that has been conducted in that vicinity for some 
time. Trinity church is now under the pastorate of Rev. Eugene 
M. Antrim. 

Grace church was organized in 1866 by twenty-nine members of 
the Pynchon Street church who felt the need of a church in the south 
part of the city. This church was conducted first as a mission and 
later as a regularly organized church, in rented quarters until 1875, 
when the present building, at the corner of Main and Winthrop 
streets, was dedicated. Rev. George M. Smiley, D.D., is at present 
in charge. 

In 1879, a chapel for the use of all evangelical denominations was 
built at the corner of Birnie and Wason avenues in Brightwood. 
Services were held as they could be arranged, ministers of several 
denominations serving from time to time. In 1887 a church was 
formed on a union basis, without denominational connection, but a 
few months later it joined the Methodists and was named the St. 
James' Methodist Episcopal church. Its present building, at the 
corner of North Main and Dover streets, was erected in 1901. The 
minister of St. James' church is Rev. Wilson E. Vandermark. 

The Baptists organized their first church in Springfield in the 
Watershops district in 181 1. Its life for the first ten years was a 
hard struggle, but by 1822 it had grown to fifty members, erected a 
chapel at the Watershops, and settled Rev. Allen Hough as its first 
pastor. In another ten years it had put up a larger building at the 
corner of Maple and Mulberry streets, and in 1847 moved to the 
corner of Main street and Harrison avenue. In 1888 its present fine 
edifice at State and Spring streets was erected. Most noteworthy 
for length of service and efficiency among the pastorates over this 
church was that of Rev. George B. Ide, D.D. (1852-1872). At the 
present writing this church is without a pastor. 

In 1864, during a time of revival interest, it was found that the 
building of the First Baptist church would not accommodate those 
who desired to attend. Consequently a colony of one hundred and 
twenty-one members was sent out to form the State Street Baptist 



Springfield Present and Prospective 129 

church, the friendly feeling being shown by a gift of $12,000 from 
the First church toward the building fund of the new enterprise. 
After a few months of life as a colony the new church was organized, 
and Rev. A. K. Potter began service as pastor on January I, 1865. 
He was succeeded after eighteen years by Rev. W. H. P. Faunce, now 
the president of Brown university. The church has almost from the 
start been recognized as among the stronger churches of Springfield. 
Its house of worship, on State street, opposite Dwight, was dedicated 
in December, 1867. Rev. B. D. Hahn, D.D., is the pastor. 

The Highland Baptist church was organized in 1886, when the 
growth of the Armory Hill district was most rapid. Its longest pas- 
torate was that of Rev. George W. Quick, D.D., who was ordained 
in 1887, and had the pleasure of seeing the church develop from its 
small beginning to its present importance. The first building was 
a small chapel at the corner of State and Stebbins streets. Its 
present edifice, on the same site, was completed in 1892. Rev. W. W. 
Weeks, D.D., began service as pastor of the Highland church in 
1904. 

The Carew Street Baptist church grew out of a work begun in 
1878 by members of Trinity Methodist church, which was called the 
Ward One mission. Two years later, the church decided to turn its 
support to a more promising undertaking in West Springfield, and 
the First Baptist church took up the work in the First Ward. The 
organization of the church was in 1887. The building, at the corner 
of Carew and North streets, was seriously injured by fire a few 
months ago, but has been thoroughly repaired. The pastor is Rev. 
W. A. Taylor. 

In 1889, Mr. D. L. Swan, who was interested in the development 
of the Forest park district, joined with a number of other gentlemen 
in the State Street Baptist church to buy a lot at the corner of Belmont 
and Euclid avenues. A house was erected on this lot in 1892, the 
title being given to the State Street church. On April 10 of that year 
the first religious service was held, and the church was organized 
June 30, 1899. The present building, known as the Park Avenue 
Memorial Baptist church, was erected in 1901, and stands as a me- 
morial of Dr. George B. Ide and Dr. A. K. Potter, pastors respec- 
tively of the First and State Street Baptist churches, and of Jonathan 
Gould Chase, who was deacon of the First Baptist church 1880-84. 



130 Springfield Present and Prospective 

The situation of the church, at the junction of Park avenue with 
Forest and Garfield streets, only a few steps from Belmont avenue, 
makes it certain that it will exercise a large influence in future years. 
This church is under the pastoral charge of Rev. Herbert E. Thayer. 

The first service for Episcopalians in Springfield was arranged 
by Col. Roswell Lee, commandant of the Armory, in 181 7. It was 
held in a hall in the office building at the Armory, which had been 
designated as a chapel. In 1821, a parish was organized and a rector 
secured, but he resigned after a year's service, and the organization 
lapsed. It was revived in 1838, under the leadership of Rev. Henry 
W. Lee, son of Colonel Lee, and soon became firmly established. 
A building was erected on State street, between Chestnut and Dwight, 
in 1840, and served until 1876, with several remodelings and enlarge- 
ments. The present Christ church property, consisting of church, 
rectory and parish house, stands on Chestnut street, just north of 
Merrick park and the city library. The rector, Rev. John Cotton 
Brooks, began service in December, 1878, and is the senior clergy- 
man of the city in the length of his pastorate. 

St. Peter's church, now located at the corner of King street and 
Merrick avenue, expects soon to build on Buckingham street. This 
church was organized in 1893, and represents the high church wing 
of the Episcopalians. Rev. W. T. Dakin is the rector. 

The hall at the Armory where the first Episcopal services were 
held was the place also of the assembling of the first company of 
Universalist worshipers. The society under whose auspices the 
meetings were held was organized and chartered in 1827. The first 
church building of the Universalist society was at the corner of Main 
and Stockbridge streets, and was erected in 1844. The church or- 
ganization, to which was given the name St. Paul's, was completed 
in 1855. The present building, at the corner of Chestnut and Bridge 
streets, was built in 1869. Rev. Flint M. Bissell is minister here. 

Hn 1898, under the leadership of Rev. Charles Conklin, the Second 
and Third Universalist churches were organized. Buildings were 
put up at once, the Second at the corner of Bay and Princeton streets, 
the Third at North and Waverley. Until 1904, the two churches 
were in charge of the same pastor, but at the beginning of the present 
year Rev. Asa M. Bradley was called to the Second church, and Rev. 
Ernest Linwood Staples became pastor of the Third church. Mr. 
Bradley has since resigned. 








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Church of the Unity 




Tniiitv M. E. Chuiih 



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Fust Biiptist Church 



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.^,Sf» ^^A-Ji 





Springfield Present and Prospective 131 

Unique among the churches of Springfield is the Memorial, which 
was organized in 1865. Its name was given "in love to the memory 
of the deceased ministers of New England." The present building, 
conspicuously situated on the end of Round hill, facing Main street, 
was completed in 1869, and Rev. W. T. Eustis was installed as pas- 
tor the same year. After Doctor Eustis' death in 1888, Rev. Dr. 
J. L. R. Trask was called as his successor, and held office until the 
beginning of 1904, when ill health forced him to retire. Opposite 
the church building, on Main street, Memorial church has a con- 
venient and well-equipped parish house. The church is in fellow- 
ship with all evangelical denominations, but is connected with no 
denominational organization. The pastor is Rev. Mark A. Denman. 

The New Jerusalem church, more commonly called Swedenbor- 
gian, was organized in 1853. A chapel was erected on Maple street 
in 1869, but was sold in 1902, and the church has now no house of 
worship, tiiough it maintains regular services. 

The Advent Christian church was organized in i860. Seven 
years later it built a meeting-house on Vernon street, which was 
burned in 1875. After worshiping in a hall for a number of years, 
it bought the property of St. Luke's Methodist church on Bay street, 
when that organization was merged in Wesley church. The present 
pastor of this church is Rev. George Teeple. 

The Presbyterian church was organized in 1895, under the leader- 
ship of Rev. William Hart Dexter, by seceders from the Park Congre- 
gational church, of which Mr. Dexter had been pastor. Its building 
on Concord terrace, near State street, was erected in the year of its 
organization. Its pastor is Rev. Arthur Requa. 

The Disciples church dates from 1895. Its church building is at 
769 Main street, but a site has been secured in the Forest park dis- 
trict, upon which it is hoped to soon erect a building. Rev. G. A. 
Reinl is pastor. 

The churches for the colored people of Springfield number four: 
St. John's Congregational, 215 Q_uincy street; the Third Baptist, 
William street, near Water; and the Loring Street A. M. E. church, 
37 Loring street; together with the Calvary Baptist church, com- 
posed of seceders from the Third Baptist church, which worships in 
a store on Monroe street. 

Six Protestant services are conducted every Sunday in Springfield 
in languages other than English. The Swedes are especially well 



132 Springfeld Present and Prospective 

provided for, having a Congregational church on John street, a 
Lutheran church at 136 Union street, and a Methodist church at 57 
Bay street. The French church is Congregational, and is at 35 BHss 
street. The German service is conducted by the Lutheran church 
at 20 King street, and the Baptists support a mission for Italians 
which meets at the Springfield rescue mission on Elm street. 

A Spiritualists' union has existed as an incorporated body in 
Springfield since 1850, and a church organization was completed in 
1897, with headquarters at 54 Andrew street. 

The Christian Science fellowship has a strong following in the 
city, and a church building is in process of erection at State and 
Orleans streets. 

A Seventh Day Advent church meets at the homes of its members. 

The synagogue at 24 Gray's avenue is the headquarters of the 
followers of the Jewish faith. 

The Shiloh chapel at 43 Catherine street and Peace chapel in 
the Glenwood district both maintain services under the auspices of 
the Christian Alliance. Holiness meetings are also held in Evan- 
gelist hall, 182 State street. 

The Carlisle chapel on Dresden street, near Wilbraham road, is 
maintained as a mission by the Baptists, and is at present under the 
charge of Rev. Samuel A. Read. 

Several missions for the rescue of the abandoned classes are main- 
tained in the city. Of these the largest and best organized are the 
Salvation Army, which has its industrial home at 60 Dwight street; 
and the Springfield rescue mission, an incorporated organization 
which owns a modern mission building at 74 Elm street. This mis- 
sion is generally supported by churches and givers of all denomina- 
tions. There are several other missions, none of them incorporated, 
some of which are supported by individuals or by groups, while 
others appeal to the public for support. Among these are the Union 
gospel mission, 65 Main street, the Holiness mission, 79 Main street, 
the Beacon Light mission, 613 Main street, and Joe's mission, 548 
Worthington street. 

John Luther Kilbon 




Cj 




R E \' . A . K . P O T T E R 





^Piirk Memorial Baptist Church -Sf. James M. E. Church 



Springfield Present and Prospective 133 



Leading Philanthropic Organizations 



LIKE all other cities, Springfield is called upon to do a great deal 
in the relief of poverty and distress, through its city govern- 
_^ ment. This work is done through a board of five overseers 
of the poor, including the mayor, ex-officio. The board 
maintainsanoflfice in theMunicipal building, with an agent in charge, 
and is also responsible for the administration of the city farm and 
almshouse, with its well-managed hospital, on upper State street. 

Although there may be question whether the Hampden county 
truant school, at 617 Armory street, belongs to the class of penal 
rather than of philanthropic institutions, its methods and its success 
seem to justify classing it here. 

The oldest and largest of the hospitals is the Springfield hospital, 
which was opened at its present location. Chestnut and Springfield 
streets, in 1888. A hospital was maintained by the city from 1879 
in a wooden dwelling house now on the grounds of the American 
International college. In 1883, in pursuance of a purpose to enlarge 
the facilities of the hospital, the trustees, who had been appointed 
by the mayor, were incorporated. The endowment of the hospital 
consists chiefly of funds left by Mrs. Dorcas Chapin and William 
Merrick and of the proceeds of a general popular subscription made 
just before the present property was secured. The Mercy hospital 
maintained by the Roman Catholics of the Springfield diocese, is 
mentioned in another chapter of this book. The Hampden Home- 
opathic hospital was incorporated in 1900 to receive the gift of the 
dwelling at 132 High street, offered by Mr. and Mrs. D. B. Wesson 
on condition that $10,000 be raised for equipment. The hospital 
has had a steady growth, and the new building which Mr. Wesson 
is erecting east of the present quarters will give it rank among the 
best-equipped institutions of its kind. It will be known as the 
Cynthia Wesson hospital. 

The oldest organized charitable association now working in 
Springfield is the corporation of the Home for Friendless Women 



134 Springfield Present and Prospective 

and Children, which dates from 1865. It was organized to work for 
the reform of fallen women, the relief of the needy, and the care of 
destitute children. Its first headquarters were at 62 Union street, 
but in 1 87 1 the work for children was provided for by the building 
at 37 Buckingham street, which is still occupied. In 1897, the home 
for women was removed to 136 William street. The incorporators 
and managers of this institution are all women. 

The fact that our oldest charitable organization dates back only 
to 1865 is not due to absence of charitable effort in earlier years, but 
to the efficiency of newer methods of charity. The Union Relief 
association, which was organized in 1876, is the oldest of the really 
modern charity organizations in the United States. It was organized 
mainly through the efforts of Rev. Washington Gladden, D.D., at 
that time pastor of the North Congregational church, and Mr. 
Samuel Bowles, the second of the name, who was then the publisher 
of the Springfield Republican. Their suggestions were drawn from 
the methods of progressive charity workers in England. The origi- 
nal members pledged themselves to abstain from indiscriminate giv- 
ing of food or money, and to do all that was possible to make their 
giving really helpful. The history of the association has manifested 
a two-fold tendency. On the one hand it has tended to bring to a 
common center the charity administration of the whole city; while 
on the other hand it has started various enterprises which have found 
independent existence. Instances of the first tendency are seen in 
the Hale fund, the Aged Couples' fund and the Penny Provident 
bank. The bank is indeed a branch of the association's work. Its 
purpose is to encourage small savings, especially by children in the 
schools. The Hale fund is one of the oldest Springfield charities, 
having been left in charge of the pastors of the First Congregational, 
First Baptist and Trinity Aiethodist churches, with the clerk of 
courts as treasurer. The proceeds of the fund are used for the pur- 
chase of coal and flour, and much of the work connected with its 
administration is done through the Union Relief association. The 
Aged Couples' fund was raised for the use of the association in 
paying rent for aged couples who would otherwise be forced to 
separate in the almshouse or the homes for the aged. The district 
nurse, supported by the King's Daughters of the Church of the Unity, 
with some assistance from other circles of King's Daughters, and 




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Springfield Present and Prospective 135 

individual givers, is granted free use of desk room in the office of 
the Union Relief association. 

The tendency of the association to send out branches which be- 
come independent appears in two of the most valuable charities of 
the city. The older of these is the Hampden County Children's 
Aid association, incorporated in 1880. Mrs. Clara T. Leonard, 
whose recent death removed one of the most intelligent and devoted 
philanthropic workers in the United States, was the leading spirit in 
its organization. Much of the progress in the wise treatment of 
neglected and dependent children during the past twenty-five 3'ears 
has followed the lines worked out by the Children's Aid association. 
The object professed by the association is to provide homes for indi- 
gent children in families and to visit the wards so placed. The work 
has extended to cover cases of neglect and abuse, and somewhat more 
than three hundred and fifty children are now under the watch of 
the association. 

The work of the Industrial House charities began in 1883 with 
the opening of a day nursery and employment bureau as a branch of 
the Union Relief association. In 1895 the organization was incor- 
porated, and the house at 78 Bliss street became its property. The 
corporation maintains a laundry, a day nursery at its headquarters 
with a branch at 23 Pendleton avenue, and an employment bureau 
especially for transient work by the day. It aims particularly at 
giving assistance toward self-support by mothers of families. More 
than one hundred and fifty different children have been in the nur- 
series during the past year. 

The Springfield Home for Aged Women, opened in 1886, holds 
a high place in the esteem and interest of those inclined to philan- 
thropic work. For a number of years the home was located on 
Main street near William street, but is now beautifully situated at 
the corner of Chestnut and Carew streets. 

The Springfield Boys' club is located at 43 Sanford street, where 
its rooms are open from September till May every evening except 
Sundays, from seven till nine o'clock. A gymnasium, a game room, 
and classes in carpentry, drawing and other similar subjects, are 
provided. There is a membership of more than seven hundred, and 
an average nightly attendance of about one hundred. 



136 SpniigfieU Present and Prospective 

The Ferry street settlement was begun in 1899 by Miss Eleanor 
Townsley. The first work was carried on in a few rented rooms, 
but in 1904 the settlement was incorporated, and secured the use of 
the whole house at 90 Ferry street. There is no permanent resident 
in the house, but it is open every day for various social and educa- 
tional activities. 

Primus P. Mason, a colored resident of Springfield, at his death 
in 1892 bequeathed his estate for the founding of a Home for Aged 
Men. The estate thus left, valued approximately at ^25,000, was 
increased by other gifts and by accrued interest, until in 1904 the 
trustees, who had been incorporated in 1897, felt warranted in pur- 
chasing the property at 94 Walnut street, and opening it as a home. 
The number of inmates is limited by the size of the endowment, but 
a promising beginning has been made. 

J. L. K. 



Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A. 

Two organizations, similar in plan and scope, one in the 
interests of girls and young women and the other in the 
interests of boys and 3'oung men, are maintained in the 
city of Springfield. Their methods of work are similar 
to those successfully employed by similar organizations elsewhere 
throughout the world. 

The Young Men's Christian association was established in 
Springfield in 1852. There were but two organizations of the kind 
in the United States at that time. After passing through the vicis- 
situdes of pioneer work in this field, a reorganization was effected 
in 1864 and again in 188 1. In the latter year the Railroad associa- 
tion was formed in West Springfield, and in 1882 a similar organi- 
zation was established in Springfield. In 1891 the then existing 
associations were consolidated into one corporation and the era of 
material expansion began. In 1894 a building which, with the lot 
on which it stands cost $135,000, was erected for the central branch 
and was regarded at the time as one of the model Association plants 
in the country. In 1904 a building for the Railroad branch was 
opened, adjacent to the union station. This well-equipped structure 



Springfield Present and Prospective 137 

cost $21,000 and'makes a valuable contribution to the whole work 
of the Association. 

The Young Women's Christian association, organized in 1870, 
has continued its valuable work in spite of its lack of equipment. 
Its boarding home is maintained at 19 Bliss street, while the social, 
educational and religious work are centered in the building at 46-54 
Court street. These organizations which began as purely religious 
ventures, have greatly broadened their activities, and have inter- 
preted religious work to mean the establishment of wholeness and 
righteousness. 

To meet the incessant demands of modern industrial life and 
promote a knowledge of one's own physical nature and to fortify 
young men and women against the peculiar temptations of youth, 
the associations have carried on their physical departments. To 
supply the deficiency which many young people feel, educational 
classes have been established along special lines calculated to sup- 
plement the work already well done by our municipality. More than 
four thousand young men, and a very large number of young women, 
are living in the boarding houses of the city, and the open buildings 
of the associations provide, each for its particular constituency, a 
social headquarters. 

In the Young Men's Christian association the promotion of 
Bible study has been effective, and in the classes will be found a 
registry of about two hundred men and boys. Also, in the same 
association, a social service bureau is maintained, which has for its 
particular duty the bringing together of employe and employer. 
This venture, though new, has been panicularly successful, 2127 
applications for work having been received from men and boys 
during the year ending September I, 1905, while 1253 applications 
were received from business men requiring employes, 613 positions 
being filled. 

In both associations the younger element is trained and guided, 
affording excellent opportunity for unselfish service on the part of 
the more mature. 

What of the future ? The Young Women's Christian association 
is confidently looking forward to the erection of an adequate 
building, and to work unhampered, should possess an endowment 
fund. The Young Men's Christian association anticipates a build- 



138 Springfield Present and Prospective 

ing for its other Railroad branch, to be located in the West Spring- 
field freight yards, the enlargement of the dormitory facilities at 
the Central branch and the creation of an endowment fund for the 
support of the whole work. 

The Christian association movement, in all of its phases, has 
passed the experimental stage, has been thoroughly established in 
the confidence of the church and the business community and now 
offers as never before an avenue for the investment of time, influence 
and money for the promotion of clean, vigorous. Christian man- 
hood and womanhood. 

William Knowles Cooper 




I'. M. C. A. BuilJing, lurner of State and Dwight Streets 





^Raihoad r. M. C. A. Building -T. A/. C. A. Electrical Clan 




R T . REV. THOMAS D . B E A V E N 



Bishop of Springfield Diocese 



Springfield Present and Prospective 139 



The Roman Catholic Church 

WHAT a history is told in the years that have passed 
since a Catholic parish was established in Springfield; 
what a story of effort and progress and achievement 
for religion! From small and humble beginnings the 
church has grown to its present grand proportions, 
with churches, schools and institutions, with bishops and priests and 
religious organizations to minister to the spiritual and material re- 
quirements of the masses. 

Within the priestly life of a man yet living, most Rev. John J. 
Williams, archbishop of Boston, who participated in the dedication 
ceremonies of St. Benedict's church in Union street, February 14, 
1847, an immense change has taken place in the religious life of this 
community. At that time you could almost count the Roman Cath- 
olic churches of New England on the fingers of one hand. The 
people were mostly poor emigrants from Ireland, existing on suffer- 
ance in a community strongly opposed to their faith and church. 
About this time there began an emigration from Ireland, which 
brought thousands to the United States and especially to New 
England. 

When Rev. G. T. Reardon was appointed first pastor of a 
Catholic parish in Springfield in 1846, there were only two parishes 
with pastors in all the territory comprising the present diocese of 
Springfield, St. John's of Worcester and St. Matthew's in the north- 
ern part of Springfield, called Cabotville, now Chicopee; while the 
missions attached to the Springfield parish extended north, south 
and west to the state limits and eastward to Worcester county. At 
that time the population of the present "City of Homes" was only 
a few thousand, while the Catholics numbered three or four hun- 
dred, and in the whole county probably less than one thousand. 
The territory covered by the three priests of Worcester, Springfield 
and Cabotville, in 1846, today comprises the whole diocese of Spring- 
field, which includes the five western counties of the state. 



140 Springfield Present and Prospective 

Springfield is the center of Catholic ecclesiastical authority 
throughout this territory, having been created an episcopal see by 
Pope Pius IX in 1870. Here is the bishop's cathedral; here he pre- 
sides over a Catholic population of about 300,000 souls, worshiping 
in one hundred and fifty churches and ministered to by two hundred 
and forty-seven priests. The Roman Catholic communion of Spring- 
field comprises about one-third of the population, or 25,000 people, 
divided into seven parishes, presided over by Rt. Rev. Thomas D. 
Beaven and ministered to by seventeen priests. There are seven 
religious communities in the city, including the Vincentian Fathers, 
in charge of schools, hospitals and reformatory work. The churches 
and parishes are St. Michael's cathedral. Sacred Heart, St. Joseph's, 
Holy Family, St. Augustine's, St. Matthew's, St. Aloysius's, and the 
Sacred Heart chapel at Brightside, and Immaculate Conception 
chapel at Indian Orchard. 

The history of active Catholic faith and the spiritual progress 
and prosperity of the Catholics of Springfield may be said to date 
from the coming of Rev. M. P. Galligher to this city from Boston, 
to take charge of St. Benedict's parish, October 20, 1856. In the 
ten years preceding his coming, three priests. Revs. G. T. Reardon, 
John J. Doherty and William Blinkensop had ministered to the 
spiritual needs of the Catholic people in this vicinity. Father Galli- 
gher found a small church in Union street, totally inadequate to the 
growing demands of the population. He immediately began to 
organize his people, and so successful were the united efforts of 
pastor and flock that in about four years from the time of his 
arrival the splendid church property, unsurpassed for beauty of 
location in New England, on which St. Michael's cathedral, the 
bishop's residence, the Catholic rectory, parochial schools and the 
beautiful convent of the Sisters of St. Joseph, now stand, was pur- 
chased, January 13, i860. The foundation and cornerstone of St. 
Michael's church were laid the following summer. The church was 
completed and the first mass celebrated by Father Galligher, Christ- 
mas day, 1 86 1. 

So successful was he as pastor and so alive to the parish interests 
that the property was entirely free from debt and the church conse- 
crated by Bishop Williams of Boston, September 28, 1867. Worn 
out by his ardent labors and respected by the whole community as 



Springfield Present and Prospective 141 

a valorous and self-sacrificing priest, Rev. M. P. Galligher died 
June I, 1869. The patriotic stand which he took during the civil 
war, encouraging the enlistment of Catholics for the Union army, 
and the especially active part which he took at the time of President 
Lincoln's death, endeared him to all Americans, and Protestants 
mourned his death as deeply as did those of his own faith. 

The diocese of Springfield was created by Pope Pius IX in July, 
1870, and Rev. P. T. O'Reilly, pastor of St. John's church, 
Worcester, was appointed first bishop of Springfield. The conse- 
cration of Bishop O'Reilly took place at St. Michael's cathedral, 
September 25, 1870, the consecrator being the late Cardinal Mc- 
Closkey, archbishop of New York, assisted by Bishops Williams of 
Boston and Conroy of Albany. Bishop Bacon of Portland, Maine, 
preached the sermon. Bishop O'Reilly began at once the arduous 
duties that fall to the lot of a Catholic bishop in a new diocese. He 
labored unceasingly for twenty-two years, developing business abili- 
ties of the highest order and always gaining by his contact with his 
fellow citizens their respect, confidence and admiration. In the 
government of his diocese, both with priests and people, he succeeded 
easily and fully. His was the art as old and as simple and as attract- 
ive as the faith of his church. He was kind and courteous to all, 
and his sweet face with its benignant expression is well remembered 
by all who knew him. Bishop O'Reilly died May 28, 1892, and his 
funeral was held June i. The funeral obsequies were the most im- 
posing requiem ceremonies ever witnessed in this city. Lawson 
Sibley, then mayor of Springfield, issued an address of sympathy, 
and called upon all citizens to unite in paying respect to his memory 
by a general suspension of business on the day of the funeral. 

Rt. Rev. Thomas D. Beaven was appointed bishop of Springfield 
by Pope Leo XIII, August 14, 1892, and was consecrated in St. 
Michael's cathedral, October 18 following, by Archbishop Williams 
of Boston. The elevation of Bishop Beaven to the episcopate was 
received with general favor by the clergy and people of the diocese. 
Bishop Beaven was born March i, 1851, and shares with the venera- 
ble archbishop of Boston the very rare distinction in this country of 
being bishop of his native city. 

Bishop Beaven attended the Springfield schools until he entered 
Holy Cross college, where he pursued his classical and philo- 
sophical studies, graduating in 1870. After being professor of 



142 Springfield Present and Prospective 

mathematics at Loyola college, Baltimore, for a year, he began the 
study of theology in the grand seminary at Montreal in 1872, where 
he was ordained for the priesthood December 18, 1875. His first 
assignment was at Spencer, of which parish he became pastor in 
1879. After a residence of thirteen years at Spencer, he was ap- 
pointed pastor of the Holy Rosary church at Holyoke, where he 
remained until his consecration as bishop of Springfield. Bishop 
Beaven is a man of distinguished presence, scholarly ability, wise 
discrimination, exalted character, unquestioned impartiality; more- 
over, of great geniality and charming personality. 

St. Michael's cathedral parish is the oldest and largest in the city, 
and originally embraced the territory of all the other parishes in the 
city. The present congregation numbers nearly seven thousand 
souls. The cathedral is a brick building with brownstone trim- 
mings. Its length is 175 feet and its width 105 feet at the transepts; 
the spire rises 190 feet above the street. In a niche on the outside 
of the tower is a life-size statue of St. Michael, a spear in his hand 
and a dragon at his feet. The windows are of cathedral stained 
glass and on those in the transepts are beautiful figures representing 
Biblical scenes. In the semi-circular dome over the sanctuary are 
figures of the angelic choir in the act of singing Gloria in Excelsis 
Deo. The church interior is elaborately and handsomely furnished. 
The high altar proper is of pure marble. The tabernacle is of wood, 
surmounted with a Latin cross, and is a fine piece of workmanship. 
In the panel back of the main altar are five oil paintings — "The 
Agony in the Garden," "Carrying the Cross," "The Crucifixion," 
"The Resurrection" and "The Ascension." The altar of the blessed 
Virgin is highly carved, and above it is a life-size statue of the 
Virgin Mary with the infant Jesus in her arms. The bishop's 
throne, of Roman design, occupies a space near the gospel corner of 
the sanctuary. On the opposite side is a similar altar, dedicated to 
St. Joseph, a statue of whom stands above it, and near this is a 
memorial tablet to Bishop O'Reilly. Over each of these altars are 
pictures representing the "Holy Family" and "Christ healing the 
ruler Jairus' daughter." It is expected that some day in the not 
distant future a new and magnificent cathedral will be erected to 
take the place of the present edifice. 




^4.JWB»«'' 




St. Michael's Cathedral on State Street 




RT. REV. P. T. O'REILLY 

First Bishop of Springfield 





REV. J A M E S J . M c D E R M O T T 

First Pastor of Sacred Heart Church 











r^fO - 









s-^. -fcssi^ 



SiiiriJ Heart Church, North Chestnut Street 



Springfield Present and Prospective 143 

The present rector of the cathedral, Very Rev. John T. Madden, 
vicar general of the Springfield diocese, was born in Leicester, Massa- 
chusetts, in 1851. He received his early education in the public 
schools of Worcester, graduating from the high school in 1869. 
After a course of study at Holy Cross he entered Montreal seminary, 
where he remained until he returned as professor to Holy Cross for 
two years, after which he went to France to complete his theological 
studies and was ordained to the priesthood at Aix-en-Provence in 
1876. On his return to this diocese he was assigned by Bishop 
O'Reilly to duty as curate at Uxbridge, Turners Falls and North 
Adams, respectively. He was appointed pastor of West Stock- 
bridge in 1885 and went from there to succeed Rev. Dr. David 
Moyse as pastor at Warren in 1892. From Warren he went to Web- 
ster, where he was pastor of St. Louis' church until he came to the 
cathedral in October, 1903. Father Madden has proved himself a 
priest of high scholarly attainments and excellent judgment, and is 
greatly respected among his associates. Rt. Rev. T. D. Beaven 
showed his appreciation of the estimation in which he is held when 
he selected him to succeeed the late Rev. Dr. John Power of Wor- 
cester as vicar general of the diocese. The curates of the cathedral 
are Revs. M. T. Slattery, M. A. K. Kelley, G. F. Flynn and J. J. 
Kenney, with Rev. John F. Ahem as chancellor and secretary to 
Bishop Beaven. 

St. Michael's school in Elliott street is the largest parish school in 
western Massachusetts. It is a brick building 120 feet long, with 
two wings, each 94 feet in length. The building was erected in 1 88 1 
and the school was opened in 1883. St. Michael's hall, in the school 
building, which seats one thousand people, is neatly decorated and 
has a fine stage. On the teaching staff of the school there are at 
present sixteen Sisters of St. Joseph, who have charge of five hundred 
pupils. The school has a four-years' advanced course, in which 
special attention is given to English, Latin, typewriting and stenog- 
raphy. The crayon work done here is excellent. 

The Sisters of St. Joseph, with Sister Mary Cecilia as superior, 
came to Springfield from Flushing, Long Island, in August, 1 88 1. 
Bishop O'Reilly received them as a diocesan order with the Mother 
house in the cathedral parish in 1884, where their magnificent con- 
vent was dedicated by Bishop Beaven October 18, 1899. Connected 



144 Springfield Present and Prospective 

with this community are two hundred and fifty sisters, mostly 
teachers of parochial schools in this diocese. They teach 4,000 
boys and girls. The present superior is Mother Mary Albina. 

The Church of the Sacred Heart at the corner of Chestnut and 
Linden streets is one of the trrandest church edifices in New England. 
Truly cathedral in its proportions, it looms majestic in its brown- 
stone massiveness. 

As one enters the church the sense of immensity is uplifting. One 
needs to study the harmonious construction of the naves and arches, 
pillars and capitals and paintings, to appreciate its architectural per- 
fection. In the transepts are two stained-glass windows of excep- 
tionally large size, one representing St. Patrick at Tara's hall, when 
he converted King Laghern and the pagan Irish to Christianity; 
the other, on the opposite side, representing three groups, "The 
Annunciation," "The Presentation" and "The Holy Family." 
The five beautiful paintings over the altar are representations of 
scenes in the life of Christ — "Christ among the Doctors," "The 
Marriage Feast at Cana," "The Manifestation of the Sacred Heart," 
"The Last Supper" and "Christ presenting the Keys to St. Peter." 
Around the walls and between the windows are fourteen groups of 
figures representing "The Way of the Cross." 

The church will accommodate over two thousand people at 
one time. There are six thousand souls in the parish. The 
parochial schools of this parish are attended by five hundred girls, 
the teaching body consisting of fifteen Sisters of Notre Dame. This 
school was established in 1877 and during its history has given thor- 
ough training for the practical duties of life, along with a high school 
course which is admirable. The people of the Sacred Heart parish 
feel well repaid for maintaining the first parochial school opened in 
the city. 

During the administration of Rev. P. Healy at St. Michael's 
church the tract of land known as Brewer's nursery, at the corner of 
Chestnut and Linden streets, was purchased for $12,000, and after 
the coming of Bishop O'Reilly the following year an additional tract 
was bought on Everett street, as the time had arrived to recognize 
the growing need of a new parish in the north part of the city. In 
the summer of 1873 Bishop O'Reilly announced to the congregation 
of St. Michael's the formation of the new parish of the Sacred Heart, 



Springfield Present and Prospective I45 

embracing the territory north of the Boston and Albany railroad 
to the Chicopee line and the appointment of Rev. James J. Mc- 
Dermott, rector of the Cathedral, as the first pastor. His energy 
prompted him to begin immediately the erection of the edifice in 
Everett street, which for ten years served as church and parochial 
school, the dedication taking place Easter Sunday, 1874. The cor- 
ner-stone of the new church was laid October 21, 1888. The tre- 
mendous labor entailed in the building of this magnificent temple 
undermined his constitution and compelled him to seek a restoration 
to health in a trip to Europe. He left Springfield in May, 1891, and 
died in Paris, France, July 26 of that year. His body was brought 
home for burial, and his funeral mass was the first service held in the 
church he had labored so hard to erect, on the morning of August 1 1 , 
1891, which was the twenty-fifth anniversary of his ordination to the 
priesthood. Bishop O'Reilly pontificated at the requiem mass, and 
Bishop Keane, then rector of the Catholic university at Washington, 
preached the eulogy. 

Rev. Thomas Smyth was appointed pastor of the Sacred Heart 
church soon after the death of Father McDermott, and upon him 
rested the burden of carrying on to completion the building of the 
edifice. It was a Herculean task, and he went at it with that indom- 
itable will and energy which he possesses and which admirably fitted 
him to take up the work and bring it to a successful termination. 
Father Smyth's dignity, his humilit}' and loftiness of character have 
endeared him not only to the people of his own congregation, but to 
the citizens of Springfield in general. 

Rev. Thomas Smyth was born in Ireland, December 25, 1848. 
He was educated in All Hallows college and was ordained to the 
priesthood for the diocese of Springfield, October 21, 1871. On 
his arrival in this country Bishop O'Reilly assigned him to duty as 
curate to Rev. Mgr. P. J. Harkins at St. Jerome's parish in Holyoke. 
From Holyoke he was transferred to Pittsfield, where he remained 
two years as curate to Rev. E. H. Purcell at St. Joseph's church. 
In July, 1874, he was appointed pastor of St. Mary's church, West- 
field, where he remained until he became pastor of the Church of 
the Sacred Heart. His work for the people of the Sacred Heart 
parish speaks for itself, needing no further encomium. The pres- 
ent curates of the Sacred Heart parish are Revs. M. A. Griffin, 
Thomas A. McGovern and J. F. Spellman. 



1 46 Springfield Present and Prospective 

The Smaller Parishes 

FIFTY years ago the Catholic population of this city was composed 
almost entirely of people of Irish origin, while today the great 
majority of the people of that faith are native Americans, with large 
representations of French, Italian, German, Syrian, Polish and sever- 
al other nationalities. Many of these new-comers have purchased 
the comfortable houses once occupied by citizens of a former genera- 
tion, and are fast becoming educated Americans and engaging in 
business and professional careers. 

St. Joseph's church in Howard street is attended by the French 
Catholics, who are a large and important factor of the population. 
Previous to the establishment of St. Joseph's parish the Catholics 
of French Canadian origin were included in the contrregation of 
St. Michael's church, special attention being given them by priests 
of their own nationality. The parish was organized under the patron- 
age of St. Joseph, March 9, 1873, with Father Gagnier as pastor. 

The property selected as the site for the new church was the 
estate of Caleb Rice, the first mayor of Springfield, and was pur- 
chased by Bishop O'Reilly. The Caleb Rice homestead is now 
used as a parochial residence. There is a parochial school attended 
by four hundred pupils and in charge of six Sisters of the order of 
the Holy Cross. The Sisters' convent is connected with the school. 

Rev. Louis G. Gagnier, the first and only pastor of St. Joseph's 
church, celebrates the golden anniversary of his priesthood in De- 
cember, 1905. He is the oldest priest of the diocese of Springfield. 

There are three Catholic churches in Indian Orchard — St. Mat- 
thew's, St. Aloysius', and the chapel of the Immaculate Conception. 
Connected with the former is a new eight-room school buildmg, 
erected in 1902, in charge of four Sisters of the order of St. Joseph, 
and attended by one hundred children. 

St. Matthew's parish was established in 1878, with Rev. James 
F. Fitzgerald as the first rector. He died in 1880, and Rev. John 
Kenny, the present pastor of St. Mary's, Northampton, succeeded 
him. The present pastor, Rev. William J. Power, was appointed 
in 1889. Rev. W. |. Power was born in Worcester in 1856, and 
graduated from Montreal college. During his administration 
Father Power has made many improvements in St. Matthew's 




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Springfield Present and Prospective T47 

church and parish and has accomplished much good. The Father 
Matthew temperance society of his parish has a large membership 
and is a power for good in the community. 

St. Aloysius' parish is composed of people of French Canadian 
birth and their descendants, who constitute an important element 
in the prosperity of this growing district. St. Aloysius' church is 
an imposing structure of red brick. The parochial schools are at- 
tended by three hundred and fifty children and are in charge of six 
Sisters of the order of the Assumption. The Sisters' convent on 
Worcester street cost about ^10,000, and the whole parish property 
is valued at $75,000. The congregation numbers two thousand 
five hundred. The French Canadian Catholics of Indian Orchard 
were members of St. Matthew's parish until the establishment of 
St. Aloysius' church December 11, 1873, when the first mass was 
celebrated by Rev. Louis G. Gagnier, now pastor of St. Joseph's 
church. The present pastor is Rev. Edmund Graton. During the 
present year a new parish has been erected at Ludlow, reducing 
the congregation of St. Aloysius' by several hundred. 

The Church of the Immaculate Conception, near the Ludlow 
bridge, is a new chapel erected the present year, and is attended by 
the Polish people, already numbering 1,200 souls. The chapel was 
dedicated March 26, 1905. The pastor in charge of this mission is 
Rev. Stanuslaus Czeluniek, who is assisted by Rev. George Jacnolski. 

The Italian Catholics of Springfield number about one thousand 
souls and are multiplying rapidly. They attend divine service in 
the chapel directly under the western transept of the cathedral. 
The altar of this chapel was dedicated to St. Augustine in 1893. 
Mass is offered up in the chapel every Sunday at nine o'clock, when 
a sermon is preached in Italian. Rev. M. A. K. Kelley has special 
charge of the Italian congregation and takes much pleasure in their 
growth, progress and prosperity. They have their own societies — 
religious, charitable and social. 

The Holy Family parish was the last set off from the cathedral, 
September 29, 1901, and embraces the territory east of Hancock 
and Thompson streets. Rev. William T. Sherry, a curate at the 
cathedral several years, was appointed the first pastor. Father 
Sherry was born at North Adams, November 12, i860. He attended 
the public schools, graduated from the Drury high school, and en- 
tered the Allegheny seminary, where he completed his theological 



148 Springfield Present and Prospective 

education. He was ordained to the priesthood at Kansas City, 
Missouri, April 26, 1885. After laboring nearly four years in the 
western parishes he returned to this diocese and was appointed 
assistant at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Greenfield, April 16, 
1889, where he remained ten years, coming to the cathedral April 
16, 1899. Father Sherry's success in the building up of this parish 
proves the estimation in which he is held. 

The property in Eastern avenue, between King'and Granville 
streets and running back to Colton street, had been purchased a few 
years previous with a view to its use as a site for the erection of a new 
church when the increase of the Catholic population in that section 
should warrant. Father Sherry immediately set at work to raise 
funds for the erection of a building suitable for religious services 
and school purposes, and at a bazar held in the city hall in May, 
1902, over ;$io,ooo was realized. The foundation for the new build- 
ing on King street was laid at once and the structure finished in 
August, 1902. The dedication ceremonies took place Sunday, 
August 31, with Bishop Beaven officiating. The parochial schools 
of the parish are attended by three hundred children in charge of the 
Sisters of St. Joseph. Father Sherry and his parishoners hope to 
see a new church erected on the site in Eastern avenue before many 
years. Rev. M. J. McKenna is curate to Rev. Father Sherry. 



The House of the Good Shepherd 

THE House of the Good Shepherd, situated on the Wilbraham 
road, about two miles from the cathedral, is an institution for the 
reformation of women who have strayed from the paths of virtue 
and for the education and preservation of young girls who have been 
badly brought up, or rescued from great moral danger. The home 
is in charge of sixteen Sisters of the Good Shepherd, with Sister 
Mary Pius superior. There are two brick buildings, each four 
stories above the basement, one occupied as a convent for the Sisters 
of the Good Shepherd and the other for the inmates. The latter is 
equipped with machinery, sewing machines, etc., for the manufac- 
ture of women's garments. 

The buildings stand on one of the sightliest spots in the city, 
overlooking Massasoit lake, with a fine view of the Wilbraham hills 



Springfield Present and Prospective 149 

in the distance. There is a farm of thirty-six acres connected with 
the institution surrounded on all sides by nature's loveliest charms. 
The young women are trained in domestic and industrial accom- 
plishments, and on leaving the home, positions for which they are 
best fitted are found for them. 

The home was established by Bishop Beaven, October 31, 1893, 
when the pioneer colony in charge of Sister Mary Lilian, superior, 
and Sister Mary Priscilla, assistant, came from Boston and took 
possession of the quarters provided for them at the corner of King 
street and Eastern avenue. Here they remained until the comple- 
tion of their new home, the corner-stone of which was laid by Bishop 
Beaven, October 18, 1896, and into which they moved July 4, 1897. 
The new convent was dedicated by Bishop Beaven, May 24, 1899. 

The order of the Good Shepherd was founded at Caen, France, 
in 165 1, and today there are houses in all the large cities of the world, 
whose work is the reclaiming and restoring of rescued and wasted 
lives and opening to the despairing new paths of hope and honor 
while safeguarding the virtue of young girls. There are at present 
one hundred and three inmates in the institution. The total number 
received since the opening of the home here is five hundred. The 
receipts and expenditures for the past year were over ^12,000. 



The Mercy Hospital 

THE Mercy Hospital, in Carew street, a few rods from Chestnut 
street, is one of the most successful enterprises of its kind in 
the state. It is equipped with all the modern appliances in every 
department and is capable of accommodating one hundred patients. 

The generous patronage of the Mercy hospital by people of all 
classes and creeds is the best evidence of the place which it holds in 
the esteem and confidence of the community. Its first great work 
was on the return of the soldiers of the Second regiment from the 
Spanish war in Cuba, when the hospital service was taxed to its 
utmost capacity. 

The Mercy hospital is an incorporated body, with a board of 
officers and trustees as follows: President, Rt. Rev. Thomas D. 
Beaven; vice-president, Edward A. Hall; secretary, Rev. Thomas 
Smyth; treasurer. Mother Mary of Providence; trustees, John Mc- 



150 Springfield Present and Prospective 

Fethries, Mary C. Carroll, Ann Marra, Dennis F. Leary, Daniel 
Dunn, William Simpson. The late Henry S. Lee was one of the 
trustees at the time of his death and took great interest in its estab- 
lishment and success. The hospital is in charge of the Sisters of 
Providence, who also have charge of St. Luke's sanatarium in State 
street for the treatment of nervous diseases, the institutions for orphan 
children at Brightside and Ingleside, and hospitals at Worcester, 
Holyoke, Adams and Montague. 

In the spring of 1896, the property known as the Allis estate in 
Carew street was purchased by Bishop Beaven of Dr. C. S. Hurlbut, 
and work was begun at once to put the building in readiness to 
receive patients. The Mercy hospital was dedicated by Bishop 
Beaven June 23, during the golden jubilee celebration of St. Michael's 
cathedral, and was open for patients July 13, 1896. It grew at 
once into popular favor so that in less than two years the accommoda- 
tions were inadequate to the demands upon it and steps were taken 
to build the present large hospital, the cornerstone of which was 
laid Sunday, September 25, 1898. Rt. Rev. Philip J. Garnigan 
preached the sermon. This hospital was dedicated October 9, 1899. 



St. Vincent de Paul 

THE St. Vincent de Paul society has charge of the Catholic 
charities of the city, as aiding the poor in their homes, the care 
of orphans and neglected children, etc. The particular council of 
Springfield is made up of the conferences, one in each of the parishes 
in the city. The receipts and expenditures of the society for the 
past year were ^12,307. This money was used to pay board of chil- 
dren in institutions and for fuel, groceries and clothing given to 
poor families. The society provides a free bed for its poor in the 
Mercy hospital. 

The permanent officers are as follows: Spiritual director, Rt. 
Rev. Thomas D. Beaven; president, Edward A. Hall; vice-presi- 
dents, James B. Carroll and Edward F. Payette; secretary, William 
H. Lane; treasurer, Timothy J. Foley; councillors. Rev. Thomas 
Srriyth, Very Rev. John T. Madden, Dr. Benjamin Fagnant, Dr. A. 
J. Flanagan, Thomas H. Collins, Rev. L. G. Gagnier. 

Edward A. Hall 




Maple Street Entrance to Springfield Cemetery 




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SOCIAL-AND 
CLVB-LIFL 





OCIAL life in Springfield retains much of the character 
which one may read between the lines of Timothy 
Titcomb's shrewd counsel to young men who would 
storm the fortress of society, addressed to them from 
the author's exalted place as an arbiter of manners 
and convenances in a provincial city of the best type. Nearly fifty 
years ago Doctor Holland wrote these useful and immensely pop- 
ular talks, and in spite of the doubling and tripling of our population 
and the spread of our residential area to tracts which in those days 
were remote woodland, the advice rings true not merely to human 
nature and the traditions of New England, but to our community 
as it stands today: so much for the conservatism of our old families. 
Few passages are pictorial, the spaces between lines disclosing 
more than the words, but take this bit of wisdom : "Society demands 
that a young man shall be somebody, not only, but that he shall 
prove his right to the title; and it has a right to demand this. Society 
will not take the matter upon trust — at least, not for long time, for 
it has been cheated too frequently. Society is not very particular 
what a man does, so that it prove him to be a man: then it will bow 
to him, and make room for him." 

The young man of that generation found a society dominated 
by New England ideals, and graced with the culture which came 
from these, rather than from wealth; for this community seems 
never to have been notable for the great fortunes and luxury of 
living which characterized the old seaport towns. Here could be 
found the Brahmin caste of New England, as it has been described, 
and here it still survives, though in lessening numbers. Signs are 



ir2 Springfield Present and Prospective 

not wanting of a transformation of our social customs in accord 
with the wealth and luxury which have accumulated in the past 
twenty years as never before, but old traditions are still cherished, 
and the more tenaciously by the survivors of a passing regime. 

Character as the foundation, and enough of intellect and social 
grace to embellish a society "worth while," are the main qualifica- 
tions for admission to the best of what is termed "society" in this 
city. The new-comer must be sound and he must be interesting; 
he need not be rich, or even well-to-do, any more than in the days 
of Timothy Titcomb. A gentleman or lady born carries a passport 
which is sure to be honored wherever generations of ladies and 
o^entlemen have lived and died and attached their names to the 
landmarks; this is a law of human nature, and it would be idle to 
assert that pride of family has no place in the local life. Pride of 
ancestry there is, and the acknowledgment of breeding, but of a 
character too dignified and too refined to admit of snobbery or the 
exclusion of new elements which are essential to preservation of 
freshness and vitality. It is conceivable that representatives of the 
"smart set" in a great city might find our best society not merely 
uncongenial but unresponsive. Millionaires of this class would be 
astounded to discover young people, minus the credentials of either 
money or ancestry, enjoying the best that the town affords. 

Of "society," therefore, in the modern acceptance of the term, 
there is still very little, perhaps none. The community is demo- 
cratic as no other eastern city of its size of which we know. The 
secret of coherence in our social mingling is not yet — thank Provi- 
dence — mere familiarity with high living. 

The "vices of our virtues," to quote the French phrase, we may 
reckon not the worst in the world. Springfield is a great village 
still, with many of the characteristics of a village, and if our women 
are so much engrossed with the duties and pleasures which are 
inseparable from a very large social acquaintance that the new- 
comer must needs wait for recognition, be assured that when the 
welcome comes it will be genuine and permanent. If our leaders in 
business and professional life are cautious and deliberate in according 
ambitious youth the preferment it craves, their confidence and their 
backing, fairly won, will be correspondingly powerful. Such is the 
stability of our industries and our entire social fabric that brief 



Springfield Present and Prospective 153 

and transient associations and attachments are not easily formed; 
these belong to a more fluid society. 

Indications there are, as we have remarked, of inevitable change. 
The development of residence districts at Forest park, at the High- 
lands and elsewhere, almost as large as the Springfield of a genera- 
tion ago, will mean separate social centers. Before the growing 
wealth and the much closer communication with New York, the 
great pleasure resorts of the seashore and the mountains, and of 
Europe, the simple life of an older day must ere long give way. 
But it persists, in spite of these influences, and there is still a place 
here for character and brains and the charm of personality quite 
independent of the vanities of pomp and luxury. It is still demo- 
cratic Springfield, and there are influences at work which will help 
maintain this fortunate condition, we believe, a long time to come. 



The Women's Clubs 

THE club is not a purely modern institution, but is the 
outcome of an older social philosophy put into active 
operation in obedience to the impulse of new social and 
intellectual conditions. The term club does not appear 
until the middle of the seventeenth century, when it is 
applied to the convivial societies meeting at taverns and coffee 
houses. Doctor Johnson, to whom we owe the social adjective 
"clubable," derives the word from the old English cleofan, to share, 
to divide, from the old custom of sharing the expenses at the social 
feasts; while others make a particular application of the word club 
in the sense of a "clump or knot " of people. 

Clubs are a growth. They have had a beginning in many places 
in different centuries, and have taken the form suited to the wants 
and tastes of the particular time and place in which they have been 
established. However, the purpose has always been the same. 
They have been organized either for the promotion of some common 
project, or for the development of good comradeship and social 
enjoyment, or for purely intellectual exercise. 

The first woman's club in America was established by Mistress 
Anne Hutchinson, that "new woman" of 1636 who prophesied the 



154 Springfield Present and Prospective 

future Boston by giving transcendental lectures there! She gath- 
ered about her a group of women who readily sympathized with her 
somewhat "heretical" ideals. This gave great concern to the stern 
Puritan divines. The result was the banishment of Mistress Hutch- 
inson and the founding of the first New Hampshire towns. Although 
this club led a strenuous existence it can not be said to have been 
without purpose and accomplishment. 

Two hundred years later, Margaret Fuller began her "Conver- 
sations," which were attended by some of the " most alert and active- 
minded women in Boston." In a letter to a friend, Miss Fuller sets 
forth her plan and aim which have since been the aims of the club. 
She says, "The advantages of a weekly meeting for conversation 
might be great enough to repay attendance, if they consisted only in 
supplying a point of union to well educated and thinking women, 
in a city which, with great pretensions to mental refinement, boasts 
at present nothing of the kind." "The meetings, although taking a 
wide range," says Colonel Higginson, "were always concentrated 
and with a good deal of effect on certain specified subjects." The 
conversations were successful, and, adds Colonel Higginson, "served 
as a moral even more than as a mental tonic to all who took part in 
them." Miss Martineau, however, takes another view, and speaks 
of Margaret Fuller and her adult pupils sitting "gorgeously dressed, 
talking of Mars and Venus, Plato and Goethe, and fancying them- 
selves the elect of the earth in intellect and refinement," while in 
truth the "pedantic orations were spoiling a set of well-meaning 
women in a pitiable way." 

Isolated examples of local clubs organized by women have ap- 
peared from time to time, but with the exception of the religious 
orders there was no general federated movement by women until 
the nineteenth century. Sorosis, incorporated in 1868 in New York 
city, was the pioneer club in this great movement. 

Independently and almost simultaneously with Sorosis, the New 
England Women's club was founded in Boston. These two clubs, 
working independently, and on somewhat different lines, have been 
the inspiration and the models for the club life of women throughout 
the country. 

As a social force, the woman's club has been most effective. It 
is essentially democratic in its organization, its vital principle being 





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SprtngfieU Present and Prospective 155 

that it is based on no artificial distinctions, and admits no conven- 
tional barriers. In the early part of the nineteenth century the 
social relations of people, especially in New England, were deter- 
mined by their political and religious affiliations. The club has 
practically effaced lines between sects and classes in communities 
by bringing its members, at regular intervals, into cooperation 
under the "liberalizing atmosphere" of a company composed of 
many kinds, creeds, parties and social ranks. So that wives of 
professional and business men, business and professional women, 
and society women meet on a common basis. In this way the club 
represents the great principle of cooperation so potent in every 
activity of modern life. No longer living in "splendid isolation," 
women feel the power and the results of associated effort in a 
natural social direction. Women gain a breadth of view with the 
result that there is a growth of mutual understanding and respect 
between the so-called social classes and a greater tolerance for differ- 
ence of opinion on all vital subjects. 

The influence of the club upon the individual woman has been 
most marked. The "everyday woman" having discovered her gifts, 
has been developed and brought into responsible relations with the 
club and the community. 

This change in her social relationships and the new interests so 
awakened have not, however, brought woman into active politics as 
a similar change in England has done. 

Women, for the most part, take their club life seriously. They 
seldom use the club for "informal recreation." They are always 
"on duty." The primary objects, in the words of a club leader, are 
"self-culture, mental improvement, self-development, enlargement 
of powers." 

The primary purpose of the woman's club, then, is education and 
self-culture, and it is plainly one of the manifestations of the great 
popular educational movement. 

What is true of the women's club in general is true of the specific 
clubs in Springfield. To one who studies the growth of the local 
clubs it is interesting to note the origins. Some have "found them- 
selves organized" naturally as neighborhood or social friends. Some 
have developed from the reading circles, and still others have been 
organized with great care, having a direct and definite end in view. 



156 Springfield Present and Prospective 

The women's clubs in the city now number about twenty, and 
they enroll more than a thousand women in their membership. The 
first women's club to be organized in Springfield was The Club, 
formed in 1872. It was the outcome of the Dorcas society, a sew- 
ing circle composed of young ladies in the Church of the Unity. This 
proved so attractive, it was proposed that the members should invite 
personal friends outside the church to form with them a social and 
literary club, similar to the Saturday Morning club of Boston. This 
was accomplished. The membership, though fluctuating, was lim- 
ited to twenty or twenty-five. The organization of The Club, taking 
for its model the previously-established men's club of the same name, 
is simple in the extreme, having but one officer, the secretary, who 
presides, and one committee, the program committee. Although a 
literary program is always presented at the meetings, this is an essen- 
tially social club, and organized for a social purpose. After the 
fashion of the time-honored English club, whose aim was "to ad- 
vance conversation and friendship," the members dine together at 
the invitation of some one of their number, and spend the evening 
in informal discussion of the topic assigned. The range of topics 
considered is not limited, but it is as wide as the interest of the times, 
or the preference of the members suggests. 

The second club to be formed was the Cosmian, organized in 
1877, just five years after The Club. The object of this association 
was clearly defined as being to maintain a thorough and systematic 
course of study, an object which has been consistently carried out 
from the beginning. The choice of subjects was the poets and 
dramatists. The verdict of the members is that this club has been 
of great educational value. Since the membership of fifteen has been 
remarkably stable, only two members having been added in the past 
fifteen years, the social life of this club has been of the most informal 
and intimate nature. 

The Women's Political Class, which was first organized in 1882, 
is the outgrowth of the Women's Suff'rage league. As its name sug- 
gests, it has for its object the study of governments, the first general 
interest in the subject being awakened in a few women by a thorough 
study of Bryce's "American Commonwealth." The class keeps in 
touch with the acts of Congress, the state legislature, and the city 
government, reports on the legislative events of the week being made 





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Springfield Present and Prospective 157 

at each meeting. Not only are the members made intelligent on 
current political events in this class, but it is as well a school for par- 
liamentary knowledge, one meeting a month being devoted to parlia- 
mentary drill. At each meeting a member of the class or a speaker 
from the outside treats some living question. Among the subjects 
considered have been "Municipal Architecture," "School Suffrage 
for Women," "Comparisons of Civic Life in Canada and the United 
States," "English Women in Politics." The class is eminently 
practical, and, although it does not actively engage in politics, at 
the time of election instructions are given women as to the ways and 
means of voting. In its nature the Political Class is essentially dem- 
ocratic. Its membership is not limited, any woman being free to 
join. The club is carried on with as little machinery as possible. 
There is little club spirit, and the unity is preserved by a few. The 
club undertakes a great deal of work which is wholly serious. There 
is no social life connected with it, hence the club is small and the 
membership fluctuating. Even with these disadvantages this club 
is a force in stimulating an interest in the local civic life and in 
the broader state and national questions. To the individual mem- 
ber it gives freedom of expression in discussion, skill in practice of 
parliamentary law, and wide intelligence and interest in the present 
governmental problems. 

In 1884 the Women's club was founded, an organization destined 
to fill a large place in the social life of the community and to unify 
the wide diversity of interests among the women of the city. At 
this time the society of Springfield, like that of most New England 
towns, was divided according to church relationships. One sought 
and found his social life in his own church. Attempts were made, 
by some broad-minded men and women, to find some common point 
of interest upon which many might agree and work effectively. This 
point of contact was found in the Women's club, whose special aim, 
in the words of its constitution, is "to create relations of esteem and 
friendship among its members by giving them facilities for becoming 
better known to each other; and its general aim is to promote moral, 
intellectual, and social improvement." 

The story of the founding has many times been told. A few 
women met once a week with Mrs. M. L. Owen to read and study 
together Tennyson's "In Memoriam." Both the comradeship and 



158 Springfield Present and Prospective 

the serious work proved of value to each woman, so that all wished 
to continue the relationship and the study. The leader, with charac- 
teristic generosity and foresight in accord with a long cherished hope, 
proposed an increase in numbers and a broader plan of work — in 
short, a woman's club. The response was immediate and enthusi- 
astic. The club so formed "came only by degrees to its present 
policy and clear conception of its scope and duties." The leaders 
builded broadly and well, and much of the efficiency and power of 
the club is due to their clearness of vision, enthusiasm and singleness 
of purpose, as well as to the spirit of cooperation and helpfulness that 
prevailed among the members. At present the membership is about 
one hundred and fifty. In its program there is a diversity of subjects. 
The only subjects tabooed in its discussions are religion and politics. 

The club, as an organization, has never adopted any definite 
plan of philanthropy or benevolence. It has, however, shown deep 
interest in the educational work of the city. It took the initiative 
in introducing cooking to the public schools. For two summers it 
also carried on a vacation school in the city. Early in its history the 
club secured for the city the rare exhibition of the famous Bayeu\ 
tapestry, in fac-simile, "a work valuable for the exquisite skill of 
its reproduction and far more so as an historical document." 

In 1904, the Springfield Women's club again took the lead in 
forming for the women's clubs in western Massachusetts a semi- 
annual conference, the nature of which should be informal, social, 
and free in its discussion of club methods and problems. This club 
has accomplished much. It has stood for "all-around" work, for 
united effort and diffusion of culture. With an increased membership, 
and larger facilities for work, which it anticipates from the proposed 
club house, the Women's club looks for greater development and 
larger results. 

Since 1890, at least thirteen local women's clubs have been estab- 
lished, each with its own intent. None have the diversified interests 
of the Women's club, which is typical in its plan of organization, 
being an association drawn together by no ties of family, neighbor- 
hood, church or profession. These later organizations, with the 
exception of the Teachers' club and the College club, are compara- 
tively small and limited in their membership. The majority are 
"study clubs" with systematic courses of study, the primary object 




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Springfield Present and Prospective 159 

being self-culture. A few carry on a miscellaneous program, doing 
work which is valuable and stimulating, while the main object of 
the association is a social one. 

The largest of these study clubs, the Cosmopolitan, is also the 
youngest, being founded in 1903. The membership limit is forty. 
This, although a literary club, aiming systematically to study the 
world's literature and to cultivate the art of expression, has a broader 
outlook than has the solely literary club, and has shown a practical 
interest in forestry and civics by planting a "Shakespeare oak" and 
an "Emerson pine" on the grounds of the central high school. 

The other clubs with systematic courses of study, named in order 
of their organization, are the Cosmian, the Women's Political Class, 
the Traveling, the Kindergarten, the Mothers', the Thursday, Fort- 
nightly, Morning, and Early Morning clubs. 

A careful questioning of members of the several study clubs as 
to the value of the particular club to the individual member has 
brought out a surprisingly uniform list of answers. These show: 

First. The study club really stimulates to study. One of the 
greatest needs of women is motive for mental activity. The work 
demanded by the study club supplies the motive, and the member 
puts forth her best effort. 

Second. The member gains a more systematic course of study, 
and a more thorough method of work. 

Third. The study class trains to clearness of thought and ac- 
curacy of expression. 

Fourth. The value of the individual club is seen in the individual 
home where the interest of the mother gives direction and impulse to 
the reading of the home and creates a community of interest in the 
home circle. 

And fifth. The increased interest in study is often the motive 
for building up a well-selected home library. 

The Atalanta club, organized in 1892 with a membership limited 
to thirty-five, is the largest of the literary and social clubs which place 
emphasis on the social life, the others being The Club, already men- 
tioned, the Wednesday Morning and the Book and Thimble clubs. 
Thfe chief social event of the Atalanta club is the annual evening 
"open meeting" to which the members invite their friends to meet 
some speaker of distinction. 



l6o Springfield Present and Prospective 

The value of the social club in advancing "conversation, letters 
and friendship" has been recognized many times. Emerson, writing 
of club life, says, "What is it all for but a little conversation ?" "By 
conversation we mean expressing the thing we think, the thing we 
have learned, the thing we have experienced." And it is in accord 
with the highest social instinct to like best, through the advantages 
of an inspiring subject, to "tell out our minds" to our valued friends. 

We must note that each of the order of clubs, which we have 
characterized as study and social, possesses features of the other. 
The study club has a social life characteristic to itself, while the social 
club has its literary work which is of marked value. The characteri- 
zation is made according as emphasis is placed upon the one feature 
or the other as seen in the composition of its membership, and the 
characteristics of the program as systematic and uniform or miscel- 
laneous and varied. Only a small number of clubs work for any 
object outside their own associations. Those which are federated, 
namely, the Women's club, the Atalanta, Cosmian, Cosmopolitan, 
Woman's Political, Morning, Mothers', Fortnightly and Teachers', 
contribute generously to the educational work carried on in the 
South by the Massachusetts state Federation of clubs. Some of the 
independent organizations, like the Kindergarten club, have also 
contributed to the work of the local charities. 

Some few clubs vary in character from the general type of the 
study and social club. The Traveling club, established in 1890 with 
a membership of twelve, studies the successive countries from the 
viewpoint of the tourist, discussing the places of note visited, not 
only from their geographical position, their historic interest, but also 
their present-day interests as centers of commerce, of culture, or of 
government. 

The Kindergarten club, formed in 1893, is an educational club. 
The motive of its organization was to promote a general fellowship 
among the kindergarten teachers and to keep the members in touch 
with the most progressive thought on kindergarten theory and 
methods. It has at present a membership of nearly sixty kinder- 
garten teachers. 

One of the most unique clubs in its purpose is the Mothers' club. 
This was started in 1894 by a group of young mothers who met 
fortnightly to discuss the problems that enter the home with children. 



Springfield Present and Prospective l6l 

The first organization in 1898, under the name of Mothers in Coun- 
cil, undertook the study of the home, applying to the subject the 
methods of modern inductive science. The members aimed to be- 
come specialists of the home, learning their art at first hand by direct 
investigation. From the systematic exchange of real personal ex- 
perience in the individual home, the discussions broadened to a con- 
sideration of the professions and trades which affect the home, such 
as domestic economics, the servant. The study of the individual 
child grew to a study of child life in general — the physical and 
mental life of childhood, education in the home, education in the 
public schools, children in their ideals and relationships. Civic 
questions are also considered with the viewpoint of their effect upon 
family life. This club, in its application of philosophy, art and 
science to the material, social and intellectual problem of the home, 
points to the club of the future which will undoubtedly address itself 
to the great problem of living. 

In 1897, five women teachers, all principals or supervisors, issued 
a call soliciting the "cooperation of all teachers in organizing a club 
similar in purpose to the Women Teachers' association of Buffalo." 
In response to this call the Springfield Teachers' club was formed 
with the purpose of promoting the welfare of the teaching profession 
and of cultivating a spirit of sympathy and good will among the 
teachers. This is the largest women's club in the city, numbering 
some three hundred members. Its work is varied. It includes the 
subjects of travel, current events, literature, music and drama. 
There are also study classes under expert leaders for those who wish 
the opportunity of study. 

In its short career the Teachers' club has done service to the city 
in entertaining the Massachusetts state federation of clubs, and in 
presenting such a course of lectures as Professor Tyler's on "Evolu- 
tion." Also with the help of the Board of Trade and Architectural 
club it has given an exhibition of artistic handicraft, the objects being 
gathered largely from the art industries of the Connecticut valley. 

The last of these large local organizations of women is the College 
club, composed of one hundred and fifty women representing some 
twenty or more universities, colleges, and professional schools. This 
club was organized in 1899 by a few college women to maintain the 
spirit of college fraternity and to promote the interests of collegiate 



1 62 Springfield Present and Prospective 

education. In its program its aim has been to present, so far as 
possible, the various aspects of college life, its artistic, social, literary, 
and philanthropic interests. During the past year, a college schol- 
arship of two hundred dollars has been offered by the club to some 
young woman who could not otherwise obtain the means for an ad- 
vanced education. In this way it hopes "to promote the interest of 
collegiate education" and to escape the remonstrance which Dean 
Swift makes in his journal to Stella, " My club, alas, it does no good ! " 

In this sketch the attempt has been made to show a few of the 
prototypes of the modern club, the ideal and value in general of the 
women's club, and the local clubs in range, order of organization, 
purpose and achievement. 

The value of the club is seen to be both educational and social. 
It has stimulated women to greater mental activity and to broader 
interest in the state. It has unified and brought into cooperation dif- 
fering sects and classes, and so has broadened social acquaintance 
and sympathy. 

Carolyn D. Doggett 



THE women's clubs OF SPRINGFIELD, WITH DATE OF ORGANIZATION 
AND MEMBERSHIP 





Organized 


Membership 


The Club 


1872 


^5 


COSMIAN 


1877 


IS 


Women's Political Class 


1882 


3S 


Women's Club 


1884 


ISO 


Traveling Club 


1890 


IZ 


Atalanta Club 


1891 


3S 


Kindergarten Club 


1893 


60 


Mothers' 


1894 


»5 


Fortnightly 


1895 


*S 


Thursday 


1895 


IZ 


Wednesday Morning 


1895 


IZ 


Morning 


1895 


»S 


Teachers'" 


1897 


300 


Early Morning 


1898 


'5 


The College Club 


1899 


ISO 


Book and Thimble 


1900 


IZ 


Cosmopolitan 


1903 


40 




Co 



7^ 







, ^ 





: Site- • ■ 

^HoiiiC oj she Spruigpcld Couiiti \ Club -A \oTthcTU I' tczv froin ihc Courilr\ Cluh 



spring-field Present and Prospective 163 



The Men's Clubs 

SPRINGFIELD may be called, without reflection on its 
title of a "City of Homes," a city also of many clubs. 
Situated as the city is, with river and hills near at hand 
it follows naturally that the clubs which most distinguish 
it are those with outdoor recreation as their principal, 
though not sole, aim, and of these Springfield has a notable wealth. 
No picture of the city or description of its pleasant life would be 
complete without reference to the clubs that dot the river bank, 
find a situation upon the hills rising from the valley, or farther yet, 
upon the smaller streams and lakes of the countryside — all easily 
accessible by the indispensable electric car. 

The Country club of Springfield merits chief mention through 
being the largest club in the city and for its distinctive character and 
the unrivaled beauty of its location. It is the familiar comment of 
the visitor that never has he seen a club with a view so splendid. 
Situated on the brow of a steep slope rising about one hundred feet 
from the meadow land on the western shore of the Connecticut, 
one gains from its broad verandas a view so wide and superb as to 
be a constant feast to the eye, whether in the clear air the distant 
hills are silhouetted sharp against the sky, whether clouds roll down 
the valley, or whether at night the lights of the city glimmer across 
the river and the dim outline of Mount Tom is surmounted by its 
flashing point of fire. From Mount Tom on the north the eye 
sweeps in the daytime down the valley and its meadows to the broad 
and winding river fringed with bending trees, down that to the white 
tracery of the long and slender bridge, and further still to the roofs 
and chimneys of the city piercing through the green mantle of its 
abundant foliage. 

The Country club owns and leases on the slope referred to and 
upon the broad plateau beyond it a tract of some seventy-five acres. 
It is reached by electric car in about twenty minutes from the center 
of the city. The club house, set in a commanding position at the 



164 Springfield Present and Prospective 

brow of the slope, is a large and attractive building equipped with 
a restaurant and the facilities of the progressive country club, includ- 
ing locker-rooms, baths, etc. Golf has been the principal interest 
of the club from its start, and the excellent eighteen-hole course 
offers attractive variety to test the golfer's skill. The event of the 
club year is "tournament week," late in the summer or in early 
autumn, when both golf and tennis tournaments are held, gathering 
many players from out of town, and making the club grounds a 
scene of gay and busy animation. The interest taken in golf by the 
womeri of the club is noteworthy, and this year (1905) an open 
women's golf tournament was held for the first time, bringing to- 
gether some of the best women players in the country. There has 
of late years been a steady increase in the club's interest in tennis. 
The club now has five dirt courts which are as nearly perfect as 
courts can be made. In addition to the annual invitation tennis 
tournament, generally held at the same time with the open golf 
tournament, the college tennis teams, Yale, Harvard, Amherst and 
Williams, are seen each spring in competition with the club team. 

With its big membership — in all nearly one thousand persons 
enjoy its various privileges — the Country club, particularly in the 
summer months, becomes largely the social center and gathering 
place. It is, in fact, the extent to which this is true that chiefly 
distinguishes the club. In spite of its generous equipment and 
extensive grounds its dues have hitherto been held at unusually 
moderate figures and so within the reach of the greater number. 
Its character has thus been kept admirably democratic. In its 
provisions for the children of members it is particularly liberal, and 
for them also it is a gathering place. Through the spring the club 
verandas are a popular place for card parties; afternoon teas are 
held at stated intervals, and club dances are a regular feature. But 
at no time is the club more attractive than on the night of the Fourth 
of July when the fireworks of the city may be looked down upon and 
enjoyed from a distance and when the club itself is made brilliant by 
illuminations and its own display. 

On Nine-mile pond, a pretty little sheet of water lying about 
the distance from the city that its name indicates, is the Manchconis 
club. Almost wholly hidden from view among the trees that border 
the shores of the pond, the club house with its restaurant and facili- 
ties for spending the night is an inviting retreat, especially tor the 



Springfield Present and Prospective 1 65 

week-end. A few steps from the club house is a boat house for 
canoes, and extending from this is a wharf from which to dive into 
the clear water of the pond. Back of the club house are three good 
tennis courts. The club, which is limited to seventy-five members, 
owns a tract of four acres. It takes its odd name from the fact that 
the whole surrounding region, which once belonged to a blind Indian 
called Wecombo, was known among the Indians as Manchconis. 

The Oxford Country club on the Chicopee river near Chicopee 
Falls, although it numbers most of its members from Chicopee, has 
also not a few members from Springfield. It has a nine-hole golf 
course, a hospitable club house and two tennis courts. Inter-club 
matches with the Country club of Springfield are frequent among 
the golf events of the year. 

The Rockrimmon golf club is still another organization devoted 
to the Scotch game, which is conducted on a more moderate scale 
than the two country clubs, but which is possessed of a picturesque 
nine-hole course. 

Along the Connecticut river, within a few minutes' walk, almost 
a stone's throw, from the center of the city, are the numerous 
boat club houses, including that of the Springfield canoe club 
association, which is owned jomtlv bv the Sprmgfield yacht club 
and the Springfield canoe club. The Springfield yacht club is 
one of the largest inland yacht clubs in the country. Its pennant 
flies from about eighty-five craft of varying sizes, some fifty of which 
are power boats. Through the spring and summer months the 
view from the river front, or from the train as one comes into the 
city from the south, is made picturesque by the presence of a num- 
erous fleet lying quietly at anchor with the dark green foliage of the 
western shore for background, or cruising up and down the sixteen- 
mile stretch from the Enfield dam to Holyoke that constitutes the 
home waters of the club. To reach wider cruising grounds the 
yachts may be taken through the canal past the Enfield dam and 
Windsor Locks, and so into the lower Connecticut and out into 
Long Island Sound and further at will. Plans are now in agi- 
tation to build a yacht club house at some point down the river 
and thus make an attractive point to which to sail a short distance 
from the city. 



1 66 Springfield Present and Prospective 

The Springfield canoe club, which is in reality the older organi- 
zation, the yacht club being an ofF-shoot, was formed over twenty 
years ago, and affords to a large membership easy facilities for 
pleasant recreation. The club house, in addition to locker-rooms, 
etc., holds at present some seventy-five canoes. Not only does the 
Connecticut offer its broad surface as a convenient paddling ground, 
but the Agawam, flowing into the Connecticut from the west, tempts 
the canoeist with the special attractions of the smaller and narrower 
stream. As in the Yacht club, the spirit of the Canoe club is more 
for quiet paddling after the day's work, or for vacation cruising, 
than for racing. Lake George, Lake Champlain, the streams and 
lakes of Maine, and especially the beautiful upper waters of the 
Connecticut as well as its lower reaches to Long Island Sound, are 
familiar cruising grounds for many of the enthusiastic canoeists. 
Others, more adventurous, even make canoe trips out from Long 
Island Sound and along the coast where the large sail and power 
boats of the yacht club frequently find their way. 

The other boat clubs on the river, while coming chiefly under 
the head of athletic organizations, are not to be overlooked even in 
this brief sketch. With their racing eights and single shells they 
offer opportunity for vigorous and healthful exercise at one of the 
most royal and at the same time most democratic of all sports, 
while their houses overlooking the river are attractive gathering 
places for rest and leisure. There are three of these clubs — the 
Springfield boat club, the Atlanta boat club, and the Rockrimmon 
boat and canoe club. The Rockrimmon club has the newest house, 
and in addition to its own racing shells and canoes shelters also the 
shell of the Springfield high school eight. 

Of the strictly city clubs, which, while possibly more essential 
than those mentioned are certainly less distinctive in Springfield, 
the Nayasset club is the most important. Its membership of three 
hundred includes many of the important men of the city. It occu- 
pies the entire upper three stories of a large four-storied building 
designed expressly for its use and erected after the formation of the 
club in 1892. In these ample quarters the Nayasset affords the 
customary club facilities, billiard-room, cafe, etc., and in addition 
are a ladies' parlor and dining-room. The Nayasset club is con- 
veniently located in the center of the city, and at luncheon particu- 
larly is a gathering place for the men of affairs. 




i'lliiiil ^ 




The Connecticut Valley from the Country Club 




^HW^W^W!" ,*■«■»?' -WjtwBH 



Springfield Present and Prospective 167 

Second to the Nayasset club, though not competing with it since 
conducted on a different and more moderate scale, is the Winthrop 
club. It has a larger membership which is made up more of the 
younger men, though they by no means comprise the full member- 
ship. It has a large billiard-room and library and attractive card 
and reading-rooms, but no restaurant or bar. 

The club house of the Springfield lodge of Elks merits special 
mention through its unusually attractive appointments and hospiti- 
ble proportions. It offers all the facilities of the city club. Sur- 
rounded by a green lawn and shaded with fine trees, while yet 
within a step of the heart of the city, the Elks club is unique in 
Springfield, and there are probably few lodges better housed the 
country over. 

Springfield has other clubs too numerous to mention — an auto- 
mobile club, fishing clubs controlling the rights on nearer or farther 
trout streams, and clubs devoted to the whole list of sports and 
pastimes. A survey of them all might prompt the rash conclusion 
that if there is a club of any sort which Springfield lacks, then Spring- 
field can not have heard of it. But quite apart from all the clubs here 
noticed, yet not to be entirely ignored since the role they play in 
Springfield is considerable, are those small and informal organiza- 
tions, going ordinarily under the title of literary clubs, whose nature 
does not lend them to advertisement but which may mean much in 
any community, and do in Springfield, as centers of thoughtful 
discussion. 

Richard Hooker 




''"^'^^-^■mAii* -^tife..-^^ 



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'.j41*Us*» **" 




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HE commercial life of Springfield is decidedly unique. 
The fact that it is unique — that it has a character quite 
distinct from that of the commercial life of any other 
city — gives to this article a value and an interest quite 
independent of that accruing from its importance as a 
link in the chain of articles which make up this book. In other 
words, it has an individuality all its own. 

It is the purpose of the writer to portray this characteristic as 
clearly as possible in the following pages, which will deal mainly 
with Springfield's commercial life of the present day, and which will 
also include a brief sketch of the city's industrial growth in the past, 
as well as a staternent of what may be reasonably hoped for in the 
future. 

It is not the intention to make this an exhaustive treatise, nor, on 
the other hand, to produce a mere outline. The aim is rather to 
present, in as concise a manner as is consistent with clear under- 
standing, those facts which have an important bearing upon the 
subject in hand. 

To the end of this article is appended a brief review of some of 
the largest and most successful of Springfield's business institutions. 
It is regretted that limited space forbids mention of a greater number, 
but those selected are typical illustrations and thus serve the purpose 
for which they are intended. 

To understand fully the reason why Springfield occupies its 
present important position in the commercial world, it is necessary 
to know something of the city's industrial history. The reader's 
attention will, therefore, first be called to a summary of those events 

169 



lyo Springfield Present and Prospective 

in Springfield's history which can be regarded as materially affecting 
its industrial growth. 

In this connection it is interesting to note how the site of Spring- 
field happened to be chosen by its founders. History tells us that 
William Pynchon and his little band of Puritans selected it because 
of the unusual fertility of the soil and the opportunity afforded of 
trading with the Indians. 

A leading figure of the settlement in the seventeenth century was 
John Pynchon, the son of William Pynchon, whose success as a man 
of business was most pronounced. Under his direction a large ex- 
port and import trade was developed with England as well as with 
the numerous colonies. This was the means by which the name of 
Springfield was first made known to the outside commercial world. 
To Pynchon belonged the distinction of being the principal merchant- 
trader not only of Springfield, but of all western Massachusetts, 
and this distinction he carried for a full half-century, until his death 
in 1703. 

The period from 1700 to 1776 was uneventful so far as the indus- 
trial growth of the town was concerned. But the year 1776, which 
is such an important one in the history of our country, proved to be 
a particularly memorable one for Springfield. It was in this year 
that the foundation was laid for what afterwards became her most 
famous industry — the United States armory. 

At the beginning of the Revolutionary war Springfield was made 
a military post and a depot for supplies and munitions of war. 
Some time during the year 1777 an arsenal was built and shops for 
the manufacture of cartridges were erected. These buildings were 
situated on Main street, but were afterwards transferred to "the 
hill." 

The making of Springfield a military depot was a small enough 
event in itself, but it marked the beginning of greater things. In 
April, 1794, by act of Congress, the United States armory was form- 
ally established in Springfield. For this we must thank one Col. 
David Mason of Boston, who had been commanded by President 
George Washington to select a site for a national armory. What it 
was that caused Colonel Mason to decide in favor of Springfield is 
not recorded, but there can be little doubt that he was influenced to 
a considerable_^extent by the fact that the beginnings of an armory 
were already established here. 



Springfield Present and Prospective 171 

The first deed of land to the United States was recorded in 1795, 
and this was the sale of a plot of ground in the section known as 
"the watershops" on Mill river. In that year the manufacture of 
small firearms was begun, about forty workmen being employed. 
The first year's output was two hundred and forty-five muskets, they 
being the first ever manufactured by the United States government. 

From that time until the outbreak of the civil war the capacity 
of the shops and the number of the men employed were considerably 
increased. During that interval came the war of 1812 and the 
Mexican war, each of which caused a period of unusual activity at 
the armory and resulted in the erection of new buildings. 

When the war between the North and South began, only two 
hundred and fifty men were employed at gun-making, and the pro- 
duction was about one thousand guns per month. Three months 
later, the output was three thousand guns per month, and the num- 
ber was gradually increased until in 1864 the product for one day's 
work reached the thousand mark, over three thousand men being 
employed at that time. 

Speaking of the influence which the war had upon Springfield, 
a contemporary writer said: "A boom of no ordinary dimensions 
came to the city with the opening of the war of the Rebellion. 
Workmen were called from all quarters, gun-making machinery was 
built and bought as best it might be, old buildings were enlarged, 
and new ones erected on the grounds, until the Springfield armory 
was enabled to equip a full regiment with arms in a single day. 
This fact necessarily made Springfield famous, and gave much occa- 
sion for its name and locality to be kept constantly before the eyes 
of the people, not only of our own land, but, incidentally, of the 
world at large. The city limits had scarcely room to contain all 
its new-comers — had not food and shelter sufficient for the proper 
accommodation of all the workmen who had been so suddenly 
gathered upon the grounds of our national armory. Every house 
in the city was stowed full of humanity from basement to attic; 
boarding-houses sprang up, like Jonah's gourd, in a night, and were 
ready to 'take boarders' in the morning; and prosperity reigned on 
all hands." 

The effect of the civil war upon Springfield while the war lasted, 
as described in the preceding paragraph, is what we might expect. 



172 Springfield Present and Prospective 

However, we are not concerned so much with that as with the after- 
effects of the war upon the city. Let us take a look at the state of 
affairs in Springfield immediately after the close of the war, when 
the need for more arms had ceased and the number of persons em- 
ployed at the armory had been greatly diminished. What would 
you expect to find in the average city under those conditions ? You 
would expect to see empty tenements, closed stores, and a large 
decrease in the city's population owing to the emigration of a vast 
number of armorers with their families. What </o you find ? Neither 
a noticeable decrease in population, closed stores, nor empty tene- 
ments; but, on the other hand, the building of houses, stores, and 
blocks, the opening of streets, and the rapid and successful develop- 
ment of new industries. "What is the cause of this," do you say? 
The reason is found in the fact that those who had worked in the 
armory had become so attached to Springfield and so impressed 
with its industrial and residential possibilities that they determined 
to make it their permanent abode. 

From 1864 up to the present time has been a period of constant 
outlay by the national government for land improvements, new 
buildings, repairs, machinery, tools, etc., so that now the United 
States armory is a thoroughly-equipped and up-to-date establishment, 
giving permanent employment to a large force of skilled workmen. 

Futile, indeed, would it be to attempt to give a correct, or even 
an approximately correct, statement of how great a proportion of 
Springfield's growth and prosperity could be properly attributed to 
the establishment of the United States armory within the city's 
limits. However, it is safe to say that no other one thing, except, 
perhaps, the advent of the railroads, has contributed so much 
towards making Springfield the prosperous city which she is today. 

Industrial Arteries 
npHE next epoch-making event to which the reader's attention is 
•^ invited is the arrival of the railroads. The Western, now a 
part of the Boston and Albany division of the New York Central 
and Hudson River railroad, was the first to reach Springfield, being 
opened for business between Springfield and Worcester October i, 
1839. Between that time and the year 1845 railroads were pro- 
jected from Springfield in rapid succession to the north, south and 
west. 




CHESTFR W. CHAP IN 




Mam Street looking South from the^Post Office 




o 



Qi 



Springfield Present and Prospective 1 73 

Previous to the coming of the railroads the chief means of trans- 
portation, particularly of freight, between Springfield and points 
north and south, was the Connecticut river boats which went from 
Saybrook, Connecticut, as far north as Wells River, Vermont. The 
advent of steam navigation gave a great boom to commerce on the 
river, and many steamers were built in Springfield. It is said that 
competition for business became so hot between Springfield and 
Hartford that passengers were carried either way for twelve and 
one-half cents, and sent home in a carriage at their journey's end. 

Passengers and freight between Springfield and points east and 
west were carried by stage-coaches, Springfield being situated on 
the highway running from Boston to Albany. The cost of moving 
freight from Springfield to Boston was then about eighteen dollars 
per ton. As soon as the railroad was opened this price was, of 
course, materially reduced. 

Springfield is today served by six distinct railway lines, which 
may appropriately be termed "industrial arteries." These arteries 
reach out from Springfield in all directions and are controlled by 
three great corporations, the Boston and Maine railroad, the New 
York Central and Hudson River railroad, and the New York, New 
Haven and Hartford railroad. For freight traffic to the east and 
west all three of these systems compete; to the south the latter two 
are in competition; while the first two mentioned compete for north- 
ern business. As a result the business men of Springfield get the 
benefit of low rates as well as good service. How real this benefit is 
can be readily ascertained by comparing the conditions here with 
those existing in our neighboring cities. 

What Springfield owes to the railroads can hardly be overesti- 
mated. It would not be going too far to state that the enviable 
position which it occupies in the commercial world today is due 
chiefly to the fact that it was made a railroad "four corners" instead 
of a mere way station. For this we must thank those enterprising 
and farsighted citizens of Springfield whose capital, courage, and 
perseverance caused the main thoroughfare from the west to pass 
through this city, crossing the Connecticut river at this point, instead 
of at another point some distance away, which was seriously con- 
templated. 



174 Springfield Present and Prospective 

In the preceding pages Springfield as an industrial center and 
a freight clearing-house has been portrayed; but to prove its right 
to the title "A Commercial Center," using the term in its broadest 
sense, further evidence is required. To become a commercial 
center a city should not only have superior transportation facil- 
ities and a vast number of prosperous industries, but should be a 
center of trade, retail and wholesale, and a rendezvous for travelling 
salesmen. It should also have large and strong financial institutions. 
Before this article is concluded it will be the writer's aim to demon- 
strate clearly that Springfield has a just claim to this title. 

For the past twenty years Springfield has been steadily and 
surely making an enviable reputation as a center of trade. During 
the first of these two decades the progress along this line was slow 
compared with that of the past ten years, during which time the 
city gained ground as a trading center by leaps and bounds, so that 
today with a population of about seventy-five thousand, Springfield 
has a trading tributary population of nearly half a million. 

This rapid growth and progress can be attributed largely to the 
development of the street railway system in and around Springfield. 
Such an important factor has the street railway become in the busi- 
ness life of the city that a brief story of its developement can properly 
find a place in this article. 

The Introduction of a Street Railway 
TN THE spring of 1868 the project of providing Springfield with a 
*■ street railway system was first undertaken. The pioneers in this 
line of transportation were Chester W. Chapin and Henry Alexander, 
and their idea was to establish a horse railroad, this form of transit 
being then in its infancy. There were at this time three omnibus 
lines in operation, one down South Main street to Mill river, another 
through Maple street to the Watershops, and the third to Oak street 
on Armory hill. The service was not satisfactory, but when Mr. 
Chapin first broached his scheme it was regarded as visionary and 
few capitalists could be induced to give it their support. He had 
faith enough in the experiment to apply to Governor Alexander 
H. Bullock for a charter, which was granted May 5, 1868. The 
Massachusetts laws required that 50 per cent of the capital stock 
must be paid in before the enterprise was started. The difficulty 



Springfield Present and Prospective 175 

of raising the necessary funds was so great that Messrs. Chapin and 
Alexander gave up the idea and turned over the charter to George 
M. Atwater, who had recently come back from Cleveland, Ohio, 
with a knowledge of horse railroading that he proposed to use here. 
It was uphill work convincing the local capitalists of the security 
of the investment. The newspapers lampooned his "hair-brained 
scheme", and a lively opposition was met from the liverymen, who 
feared that the new project would be a menace to their business. 
Finally a sufficient amount was subscribed by 64 persons, and in 
July, 1869 Mr. Atwater petitioned the city government for per- 
mission to build a horse railroad. The city officials laughed at the 
petitioner but good-naturedly voted to allow him to try his "crazy" 
experiment. The Springfield street railway company was then 
formally organized and the first important official act of the directors 
was the purchasing of Smith & Fuller's Oak street omnibus line, 
which was managed by the company until March, 1870, when its 
operation was suspended. 

A stable was erected at Hooker street in the summer of 1869, 
and at the same time the laying of the first road was begun from the 
barn to Oak street, a distance of nearly two and one-half miles. 
The contractors were enabled to complete the work March 10, 1870, 
seventeen days in advance of the time limit. The equipment of 
the road at this time consisted of four bobtail cars, two of which 
were twelve-footers and two ten-footers, and twenty-four horses. 
The initial trip was made on that day with one of the twelve-foot 
bobtails. The driver was cooped in by a semicircular railing inclos- 
ing the front platform, and a step in the rear like the step of an 
omnibus allowed entrance for passengers. When the door was 
closed the step was covered up so that it was impossible to board 
the car while in motion. The car was filled with passengers and 
thousands of people stopped on the sidewalks to stare after the new 
fangled coach. The cars continued to make half hour time for the 
remainder of the day. The fares were adjusted at eight cents singly, 
or sixteen tickets for one dollar. 

In these early times cars were not run on the rails in winter, 
but upon the snow, runners being substituted for wheels. The city 
officials forbade the removal of snow from the track, and it was not 
until 1876 that the uninterrupted operation of wheeled cars in winter 
was allowed in the city streets. 



176 Springfield Present and Prospective 

The year 1874 saw the first two extensions of the road. The 
State street line was extended from Oak street to Winchester park, 
and the Main street hne was extended from State street to Mill 
river. In 1876 Mr. Atwater resigned from the presidency and John 
Olmsted became president and treasurer, holding the former office 
until his death, April 6, 1905. 

Another onward step in the interest of the public was taken in 
1879 when the company adopted sheet tickets. A sheet containing 
one hundred tickets was sold for five dollars, but single fares cost 
seven cents. Main street was double-tracked and the equipment 
was enlarged to meet the expected increase in passengers. The 
following year there were still further reductions in fares. Single 
fares were established at six cents, while the five-cent fare was put 
within the reach of the public by the sale of five tickets for a quarter. 
It was in this year also that the Maple and Central street lines to 
the Watershops was opened for public travel. 

It was in 1882 that open cars were introduced on this system, 
the earliest of these cars containing but five benches, and simul- 
taneous with the advent of these cars was the employment of con- 
ductors to collect fares. Previous to this time the patrons of the 
street railway dropped their fares in the slot of the cash box which 
was located in the front of the car. This was very unsatisfactory, 
and it was especially difficult to reach this cash box when the car 
was crowded. So many persons lost courage on such occasions 
that the company, for its own protection, employed the services of 
conductors, as an experiment, on the open cars. 

Beginning in 1884, various extensions of the system followed 
one another in rapid succession. 

A petition was sent to the board of aldermen in the fall of 1888, 
asking for permission to use electricity on the Mill river line. Two 
public hearings were given and the movement met with decided 
opposition from various sources. The telephone company objected 
on the ground that the single trolley system, which the railroad 
contemplated adopting was a dangerous one, and moreover, would 
raise such a din on the telephone lines that they could not be used 
advantageously. These objections were overruled, and December 
23, 1889, permission was granted to use the single trolley system 
from State street to the new terminus in Sumner avenue, opposite 



Springfield Present and Prospective 177 

Forest park. This line was equipped with the single trolley system 
in the summer of 1890, and the first trial was made with two cars. 
By the summer of 189 1 the electric cars were running on all lines. 

In 1890, a uniform fare of five cents was established. It was in 
1892 that cars were run for the first time to Indian Orchard and 
Mittineague, and the following year the line from Merrick to Mitti- 
neague, the Brightwood, Worthington street and King street lines 
were opened. 

In 1895 a road was constructed to connect with the line of the 
Holyoke street railway company, and a year later cars were running 
to the state line in Longmeadow, the Tatham and Catherine street 
lines were opened, and all night cars were run on the hill lines. 
In 1897 cars were run for the first time on the Dwight street, and 
the Maple street line was extended past the Watershops to White 
street. In this year, also, tracks were laid over Plainfield street to 
Brightwood, and in 1898 the Hancock street line from Forest park 
was opened. 

It was in 1894 that a power house was built at the foot of Mar- 
garet street, the power used previous to this time being purchased 
from the electric light company. In 1898 and again in 1900 this 
plant was enlarged to meet the demands of the road, and today is 
a most modern power plant. 

During the years of 1899 and 1900 the Belmont avenue line and 
the Agawam line to the state border were opened, and connection 
was established with the Woronoco street railway company of 
Westfield by which through cars were run. In January, 1902, the 
Feeding Hills line was opened, and in September of the same year 
the Wilbraham road and East Longmeadow extensions were also 
opened. 

Thus has developed the Springfield street railway company, a 
system which today ranks as one of the best equipped street railway 
systems in the country. It now comprises nearly ninety-four miles 
of track, of which forty-eight and one-fourth miles are located in 
the city limits of Springfield. Constant improvements have been 
made in its construction, heavy tee and girder rails having been 
substituted for lighter rails. The equipment of the road consists 
of 107 closed cars and 120 open cars, and it requires seventy-five 
cars to run the regular daily schedule, while, in addition, extra cars 



178 Springfield Present and Prospective 

are run morning and evening for the accommodation of the working 
people. In the matter of equipment there have been rapid advances, 
large fifteen-bench open cars and thirty-foot body closed cars con- 
stantly being added to replace the smaller single-truck cars. 

A notable feature is the advance in through service conditions. 
Today it is possible to go from Springfield to Holyoke, Northamp- 
ton, Westfield, Palmer and Hartford without change of cars and 
at reasonable rates. 

One cause of the success of the Springfield system is the extension 
of its lines to attractive and interesting parts of the city and its 
suburbs. The Forest park, Glenwood, Chicopee, Indian Orchard 
and all through line cars are well patronized with people who desire 
to take a ride into the country for pure recreation. 

The rapid and adequate development and extension of the lines 
of the Springfield street railway company have been of incalculable 
benefit to the people of this city, greatly enhancing real estate values 
and providing convenient, rapid and safe means for both pleasure 
and business travel. 

Sources of Strength 

Springfield's industrial growth and prosperity are due in large 
part to the character and strength of the city's financial institu- 
tions, which are described in greater detail in another part of this 
article. 

The characteristics of Springfield's banking institutions is the 
fact that they are all the result of local initiative. That this is so 
should be a source of pride to every citizen of Springfield, for in 
banking facilities there is no city of its size in the United States 
that surpasses it, and many cities that have much larger populations 
possess banking facilities greatly inferior. 

Springfield has eight national banks, two trust companies, and 
three savings banks, the combined capital of the national banks 
and trust companies on August 23, 1905, being ^3,550,000, and the 
deposits about $15,000,000. The deposits of the three savings 
banks on the same date were nearly $28,000,000. 

In this connection it is interesting to note that Springfield, which 
stands ninth in population in the state, has the second largest sav- 
ings bank and the second largest trust company in the common- 
wealth, outside of Boston. 



Springfield Present and Prospective lyg 

Among the things that have helped to make Springfield famous, 
next, perhaps, to the United States Armory, are the two local insur- 
ance companies: the Springfield Fire and Marine Insurance com- 
pany and the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance company. 
These companies were both organized by citizens of Springfield, 
the former being chartered in 1849, ^"'^ ^^^ latter in 1 85 1. The 
characteristic of each company is, above everything else, solidity. 
Their record has been one of steady growth and progress, accom- 
plished under conservative management. Each year sees a large 
increase in the amount of business done and a corresponding gain 
in assets. 

It is doubtful if there is another city in the United States of the 
size of Springfield which can boast of so many first-class hotels. 
The hostelries of this city have a reputation that is national. Not 
only are they well appointed, but they are very commodious. Trav- 
elling men make this city their rendezvous, owing to its central 
position, and the hotels receive a patronage that is both large and 
constant. The two oldest and best known are the Massasoit house 
and Cooley's hotel, the former having been opened in 1843, and the 
latter in 1850. 

There is no question but that the high character of Springfield's 
hotels has contributed much toward giving travellers the favorable 
impression which they generally have of our city. So attracted have 
travelling men become by the city's advantages that many have 
moved their families here, some two thousand commercial travellers 
now making this their headquarters. 

Among the things already mentioned that have helped to make 
Springfield famous should be added Springfield's publications. 
Foremost among these it is safe to place the Springfield Republican, 
a newspaper that is read and quoted throughout the country. Of 
almost equal importance and of even greater renown, perhaps, is 
"Webster's Dictionary," published by The G. & C. Merriam 
Company. 

The enterprise and prosperity of a city are judged by, among 
other things, the amount of mail matter handled at the post-office. 
The volume of business done at the Springfield post-office is nothing 
short of remarkable for the size of the city, and it is constantly in- 
creasing. There are but three states in the country which surpass 



l8o Springfield Present and Prospective 

Massachusetts in the aggregate of its post-office receipts, these three 
exceptions being New York, lUinois and Pennsylvania. In Massa- 
chusetts, Boston, the first city in population, leads in gross receipts, 
and Springfield, which is eighth in population, stands second in 
gross receipts. In percentage of net receipts to gross receipts Spring- 
field makes a still better showing, ranking first not only in Mass- 
achusetts but in all New England. 

For the year ending June 30, 1905, Springfield stands second in 
gross receipts, ranking above Worcester for the first time, Spring- 
field's receipts being $315,779.15 and Worcester's $313,493.17. 
The population of Worcester, according to the 1905 census, is 
127,763, and that of Springfield 73,484. The following tables give 
at a glance the rank of the Springfield post-office as compared with 
those of Boston and Worcester: 



Boston 


Population 

Iq04 1905 

I I 


Gross 

Receipt 

1904 1 

I 


;s 
.905 

I 


Net 
Receipt 
1904 

I 


s 

1903 

I 


Per cent. Net 

Receipts to 

Gross Receipts 

1904 iqos 

3 3 


Worcester 


2 


2 


2 


3 


3 




3 


2 2 


Springfield 


9 


8 


3 


2 


2 




2 


I I 



The Springfield Board of Trade 

THE commercial life of Springfield is unique as compared with 
that of most cities in that it has a board of trade which is act- 
ive. The Springfield Board of Trade is a young organization, hav- 
ing been in existence but fifteen years. During that time it has grown 
steadily in size and influence, until, today, it ranks among the strong- 
est commercial organizations in the country. In proportion to the 
city's population it has the largest membership and is the most 
prosperous of any board of trade in New England. 

The progress which the board has made is due to the fact that 
the leading business men of the city take a genuine interest in its 
work. The men who have served as presidents have been citizens 
of the highest character, and have, without exception, given liberally 
of their time in the effort to make the board of the greatest possible 
benefit to the community. During the past two years the office of 
president has been filled by Henry H. Bowman, president of the 
Springfield National bank, under whose guidance the affairs of the 



Springfield Present and Prospective l8l 

board have prospered greatly. The only salaried official is the 
secretary, who devotes his entire time to the work of the board. 
The present secretary is J. Frank Drake, who is now serving his 
third year in that capacity. 

As stated in the by-laws, the objects of the Board of Trade are: 
"To establish a body of recognized authority to deal with matters 
of interest to the business men of Springfield, and to the general 
public; to forward the prosperity of the mercantile and manufactur- 
ing community; and to procure and spread such information as 
will advance and elevate commercial dealings and extend just 
methods of business by the establishment and maintenance of a 
a place for business and social meetings." 

There is a diversity of opinion among the members of the board, 
as there is bound to be in any organization of its size, concerning 
the scope of the field in which the Board should confine its work. 
Some think that it should be the "boom" organization, the "shout- 
ing mule-driver of the municipal triumphant car of progress," and 
that its success should be gauged entirely by the number of new 
enterprises secured. Others, who are greatly in the majority, think 
that better progress in the end can be made by a more conservative 
course, under which no one is offered a cash bonus to choose a 
business location, but all manifest natural advantages to the manu- 
facturer and the home-seeker are presented in every possible way. 

The quarters occupied by the Board of Trade are centrally 
located and well furnished. Their value has been well appreciated, 
as is shown by the fact that Board of Trade meetings and meetings 
of various business associations are held on the average of more 
than one per day. The rooms are also freely used by business men 
in fulfilling engagements for business purposes. 

The administrative function is vested in a board of directors, 
twenty in number, which meets once each month. From time to 
time during the year, as occasion requires, the full membership is 
called together, and twice each year formal banquets are held at 
which it is customary to have as guests men of national and even 
international repute, who deliver addresses. 

In the course of the fifteen years that the Board of Trade has 
been in existence many things have been accomplished which have 
greatly benefited the city. Besides the various industries which the 



182 Springfield Present and Prospective 

board has induced to locate here, there are two pieces of work which 
stand out conspicuously, namely, the creation of the Advertisers' 
Protective association and the Springfield Credit Exchange. These 
two organizations have for several years past been the means of 
saving the business men of Springfield many thousands of dollars, 
and would be in themselves of sufficient importance to warrant the 
maintenance of an institution like the Board of Trade. 

A Diversity of Enterprises — Some Which 
HAVE Helped in Upbuilding Springfield 

THE one characteristic of commercial Springfield which is per- 
haps the most pronounced is the diversity of its industries. 
The fact that Springfield did not possess any one particular natural 
advantage suited to the growth of any one particular line of business 
has made of Springfield a "broad" city in the sense that we speak 
of a broad-minded man. It has caused prosperous industries of 
all kinds to make a start here, many of which have grown to such a 
size that they have a national and international reputation. 

The fact that our industries are diversified in character has 
tended to make general business depressions and hard times felt in 
Springfield to a much lesser degree than would be the case were 
our industrial life like that of most cities in which there is usually 
some one industry vastly superior in size to all the others. 

A self-made city is Springfield. This is quite evident to the 
person who makes himself familiar with the city's industrial history, 
which has been briefly given in this article. Even as the world is 
proud of a successful, self-made man, so should we be proud of our 
prosperous, progressive city. 

It is impossible to prophesy accurately what the future of Com- 
mercial Springfield will be. There is only one way in which an 
intelligent forecast can be made, and that is to judge the future by 
the past, with a full knowledge of all the present resources which 
should have an important bearing upon future activities. 

The advantage of a central location Springfield will undoubtedly 
always enjoy. This fact, coupled with the city's great prosperity 
which is not the result of a boom but the outcome of years and years 
of steady, healthy growth, points to continued progress. Numerous 
other advantages, such as low taxes, cheap insurance, abundant 







Home of the SpringfielJ Board of Trade 



Springfield Present and Prospective 183 

supply of skilled labor, unsurpassed transportation accommodations, 
adequate banking facilities, and a city government that is free from 
graft, constitute a wonderful force which makes the future of 
Springfield look extremely bright. 

It is possible in this chapter to briefly review only a few of the 
hundreds of enterprises which are recognized as prominent among 
those materially aiding in the upbuilding of Springfield, and to give 
as adequate an idea as possible of their past growth and development, 
and of their present standing. 

The Springfield Fire and Marine Insurance Company has a his- 
tory of serious difficulties successfully overcome, of growth and progress 
most creditable to its management, and of business development of the 
most satisfactory character. It is a record in which especial pride is felt in 
the city whose name the company bears and where its home offices have 
always been located. It is one honorable and notable in the annals of 
American fire underwriting. 

The Springfield was organized and began business in the spring of 
1851, under a charter granted by special act of the Massachusetts Legisla- 
ture two years earlier. The capital stock of the proposed company had been 
fixed at ^150,000, with the provisos that business might commence when 
^50,000 had been paid in, but that no more than ten per cent of the amount 
of paid-in capital should be taken on any one risk. The formation of the 
company was largely due to the persistent efforts of Marvin Chapin, at 
that time one of the proprietors of the Massasoit house. He was a public 
spirited citizen, actively identified with Springfield's interests. He believed 
that the money being paid for insurance to out-of-town companies should 
be retained through a home organization. Springfield was at that time a 
large and growing town, not having attained to the dignity of cityhood, and 
the business of fire underwriting was still in the formative and experimental 
stages. It required long and earnest effort to secure subscribers for the 
necessary amount of capital stock; but the movement was finally successful, 
and the Springfield began to do business May 31, 1851. At the close of 
that year, after seven months of business, the company's report showed 
that $l,y?i^,()lb of fire risks .and ;?8,28o of marine risks had been written, 
while the two fire losses paid during the period amounted to but ^356.25. 

It was a modest beginning, but the men active in the enterprise were 
among the leading citizens of the town, and they were determined that the 
company to which they had given the loved name of their town should 
prove worthy of the honor. The "home offices" at this time consisted of 
two rooms in the City Hotel building, which had been hired for one hundred 
dollars per year, and a little later a lease of the quarters for ten years at an 
annual rental of one hundred and fifty dollars was taken. 



184 Springfield Present and Prospective 

While bearing a local name, the Springfield did not, unlike too many of 
the companies then doing business, confine its efforts to the home vicinity. 
Almost as soon as it began doing business, a New York city agency was 
opened, and steadily the name of the company was extended to more remote 
portions of the country. Many difficulties were encountered in the western 
states, some of which had obnoxious insurance laws; but the company 
steadily widened and broadened its field. Its managers were dismayed by 
no ordinary obstacles or adverse conditions. While the "hard times" of 
1857 were at their height it was decided to have an appropriate home office 
building; the historic site at the corner of Fort and Main streets was pur- 
chased, and the following spring the building which the company were to 
occupy for forty-seven years was completed. In the fall of that year it was 
voted to double the capital stock of the company, and without serious dis- 
turbance the years of the civil war were passed. The company had, however, 
taken a wise precaution early in the year i860, by discontinuing all marine 
undenvriting with the exception of inland (lake and river) risks. August, 
1866, the company voted to increase its capital stock to half a million dollars, 
under an act of the Legislature authorizing the same. The then stockholders 
were allowed to subscribe for two shares of the new stock for every three 
shares held by them, and the full amount was taken within two months, 
although the company had just suffered a severe loss in the Portland (Maine) 
fire of 1866. 

The Chicago fire of 1871 cost the Springfield in round numbers a sum 
equal to its entire capitalization. While the fire was still raging the board 
of directors met and took such measures as were practicable to provide for 
meeting the unknown but certainly enormous losses; and when the extent 
of the disaster became known, the stockholders in special meeting unani- 
mously voted a 65 per cent assessment of the stock in order to restore the 
impaired capital. 

The Boston fire of 1872 brought another severe trial to the Springfield, 
its losses amounting to about ;f250,ooo, and an assessment of thirty per 
cent to repair the capital stock became necessary. As in the former case, 
it was voted without dissent. Having thus within thirteen months passed 
two crises of appalling magnitude, making a record rarely if ever equaled 
in the history of underwriting, the Springfield had brilliantly shown itself 
worthy of public confidence, and loyally has the recognition been extended, 
as abundantly attested by the company's subsequent growth — a growth so 
marked that in the Baltimore fire of 1904 it was able to meet a loss of 
^440,000 without embarrassment or serious inconvenience. 

The growth of business is well shown by that of the capital stock, 
vhich in 1874 was increased to §600,000, in 1875 to $750,000, in 1881 to 
;i,ooo,ooo, in 1887 to $1,250,000, in 1890 to $1,500,000, and in 1901 to 





Offire Ititt-nors of the tire and Marine Company's New BinUinu 







^=5: 



Springfield Present and Prospective 1 85 

;?2,000,ooo, the present figure. All of these increases in capitalization have 
been made from the company's surplus earnings. Meantime the risks have 
grown from less than $1,800,000 in 1852 to $442,061,692; there has been 
paid in cash dividends to the stockholders $4,/"54,542 — all of which has been 
more than met by the $5,009,816 interest and dividends from investments; 
the assets of the company December 31, 1904, amounting to $6,446,898. 

In 1902 the initial steps were taken toward the erection of a modern 
fireproof building as a home office for the company, seven estates at the 
corner of State and Maple streets were secured, and President A. W. Damon, 
with directors Warren D. Kinsman, Mase S. Southworth and James L. 
Pease were appointed a building committee. As a result of their efforts, 
the present magnificent home of the company, complete and adequate in 
every respect, finely appointed and fitted with every modern convenience 
and device for the transaction of the underwriting business of today, was 
occupied July 3, 1905. 

The present official board of the Springfield consists of A. Willard 
Damon, president; Charles E. Galacar, vice-president; W. J. Mackay, 
secretary; F. H. Williams, treasurer; directors — Frederick H. Harris, Mar- 
shall Field of Chicago, James L. Pease, Mase S. Southworth, Warren D. 
Kinsman, Homer L. Bosworth, William A. Harris, A. Willard Damon, 
Charles E. Galacar, and Joseph Shattuck, Jr. 

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. George W. 
Rice and Dr. Alfred Lambert were the first propagandists of the idea that 
the premium money of Springfield citizens might better be paid to a home 
than to an alien life insurance company. Their zealous preaching was 
successful, and the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance company, Spring- 
field's largest financial institution, was given life on May 15, 1851, by act of 
the Massachusetts legislature, the enabling document bearing the signatures 
of the governor, George S. Boutwell, Henr\' Wilson, president of the Senate, 
and N. P. Banks, speaker of the House. The design of the corporators of 
the company was to establish an institution that at an early day should be 
purely mutual; and it was only the necessity of providing funds to start the 
business that prevented strict mutuality at the outset. The company was 
therefore, when it began to do business, a mutual company having a small 
capital stock interest — $100,000. Interest upon the stock was limited to 
seven per cent per annum, and the stock itself was retired in 1867, since 
which year the company has been in full realitv the Massachusetts Mutual. 

The first home office of the company was not extravagantly sumptuous, 
it being no less and no more than one room, to wit. Room 8, Foot's block, 
corner of Main and State streets. In 1866-67 ^^^ ^m\i and occupied a new 
headquarters, a five-story building at 413 Main street. And novs^, in 1905, 
plans are under vpay whereby the company will in two or three years return 



1 86 Springfield Present and Prospective 

to "the very spot of its origin," namely, to the comer of Main and State 
streets — it having bought the Foot block and property in the rear, upon 
which an adequate home office building will be erected. The company's 
officers have always been men of prominence and activity in our com- 
munity. The personnel of the first management was Caleb Rice, president; 
James M. Thompson, vice-president; Caleb Rice, treasurer; F. B. Bacon, 
secretary; Samuel S. Day, clerk; Dr. Alfred Lambert, medical examiner; 
William Rice, Waitstill Hastings, Samuel Day, finance committee. These 
men in their day were among our civic leaders, and their names frequently 
appear in the chronicles of their generation, nor are they yet forgotten by our 
city's elders. Of equal quality were their successors, the predecessors of the 
present business body of officials. Too much space would be required for the 
naming of all who have occupied official positions in the past, but a history 
of either the city or the company would be a half-told tale if no mention 
were made of E. W. Bond, M. V. B. Edgerly, E. D. Beach, C. McLean Knox, 
Homer Foot, Henry S. Lee, Julius H. Appleton, Gideon Wells, Avery J. 
Smith, James Weir Mason, Henry Fuller, Jr., Dr. David P. Smith, and 
Harry W. Haskins. The present list of officials is as follows: John A. Hall, 
president; Henry M. Phillips, vice-president; Wm. W. McClench, second 
vice-president and counsel; Wm. H. Sargeant, secretary; Oscar B. Ireland, 
actuary; Dr. F. W. Chapin, Dr. George S. Stebbins, medical directors; 
Wheeler H. Hall, Geo. D. Lang, assistant secretaries; A. K. McGinley, 
assistant counsel; Chas. H. Angell, assistant actuary; C. S. Warburton, 
superintendent of loans; Isaac B. Snow, superintendent of agencies. 

Many of these officers have been connected with the company during a 
long period. President Hall was the Springfield general agent of the com- 
pany in 1872, and his steps toward the presidency were as follows: Super- 
intendent of agencies in 1 880 ; elected secretary in 1 88 1 ; thence to the position 
of president in 1895. Vice-president Phillips was elected secretary in 1895 
and vice-president in 1904. For many years prior-to 1895 he had been a 
director of the company and a member of committees. Second vice-president 
McClench became connected with the law department of the company in 
1893 and was appointed counsel in 1898; his election as second vice-president 
occurred in January, 1905. Secretary Sargeant began as an office boy in 
1884, and before his election to the secretaryship in January, 1905, he had 
served as inspector of agencies and risks and as an assistant secretary. 
Actuary Ireland received his appointment in 1872. Doctor Chapin began his 
duties as a medical examiner of the company in 1879, and Doctor Stebbins 
in 1887. Assistant secretary Hall entered the employ of the company as a 
junior clerk in the actuarial department in 1886; whence he was transferred 
to the bookkeeping department; a few years later he became chief accountant; 
ne.xt followed his election as an assistant secretary. Assistant secretary 



Springfield Present and Prospective 1 87 

Lang has been connected with the company continuously during thirty-two 
years, having joined the office force as a bov in 1873; he was elected to his 
present position in January, 1905. Superintendent of Loans Warburton, 
became an agent of the company in 1877 and was placed in charge of the 
loan department in 1897. Superintendent of Agencies Snow joined the 
company as an agent in 1880, and in 1900 was given the oversight of the 
agency corps. And both the assistant counsel and the assistant actuary 
deserve a place on the list of old employes. This chronologic recital indi- 
cates that faithfulness and ability are prized and necessary elements of pro- 
motion in the home office of this company. The following Springfield men 
are members of the board of directors: Henry S. Hyde, Hon. Marcus P. 
Knowlton, Nelson C. Newell, Lewis J. Powers, A. B. Wallace, W. S. Cald- 
well, John A. Hall, Henry M. Phillips, Wm. W. McClench, Dr. F. W. Cha- 
pin, C. S. Warburton. Holyoke is represented by Hon. William Whiting. 

Perhaps it is not as well known to our citizens as it ought to be, that the 
Massachusetts Mutual occupies an almost unique position in life insurance 
in the United States, in that, together with but two or three other companies 
among all the regular companies, it issues annual dividend life insurance 
only, and pays annual dividends of yearly-increasing aggregate magnitude. 
The long and successful dividend-paying record ot this company demon- 
strates that the annual dividend system is practicable, is satisfactory to the 
insured, and affords the only just method of distributing surplus. By its 
employment the accumulation of a huge surplus is prevented, and thus is 
avoided the temptation to extravagance of various kinds and the great waste 
of policy-holders' money in mad rivalry for new business. Massachusetts 
law, of course, governs the company's policy contracts, its leading feature 
being the statutory determination of paid-up and cash-surrender values, 
whereby, after three annual premiums have been paid, a policy-holder in a 
Massachusetts company possesses an inalienable, vested insurance right, of 
fixed money value. The law is frequently referred to as the " Famous Non- 
Forfeiture Law of Massachusetts," and it is worth a Massachusetts man's 
knowing that his state was the first to enact such laws and the first to estab- 
lish an insurance department for the supervision of its companies. Annual 
dividends, Massachusetts law, liberal policies, and honest and capable 
management, have made the Massachusetts Mutual greatly successful — not 
in hugeness, but in acquiring that popular confidence which is reflected in 
safe and normal growth. 

The total income of this company in 1904 was over eight million dollars, 
showing an increase of more than one hundred per cent in the last ten years. 
The assets at that time were over thirty-seven million dollars, an increase of 
136 per cent; insurance in force, 5182,874,119, an increase of 103 per cent; 
surplus, $3,300,623, an increase of 118 per cent. The total payments to 



i88 Springfield Present and Prospective 

policyholders and beneficiaries from the date of organization in 1851 down 
to December 31, 1904, were as follows: Death claims, ^27,241,873; matured 
endowments, ^4,494, 549; dividends, §13,015,120. During 1904, §941,827 
was paid to policy-holders in annual dividends alone. The company operates 
in thirty-four states of the Union, and had at the close of last year some 
eighty thousand policies in force. 

G. &. C. Merriam Company'. Had Springfield nothing else to be proud 
of she would have just claim to world-wide fame on accoi^nt of the fact that 
here is issued Webster's International dictionary, that marvelous compen- 
dium of human learning that was first published by Noah Webster in 1828. 
Upon his death in 1843 the copyright was bought out by George and Charles 
Merriam, who for ten years previous had conducted a bookstore and printing 
establishment in Springfield and to whom the world is indebted for the 
development of Webster's great works to their present commanding position 
in the world of learning. Homer Merriam, who had been in the book busi- 
ness in Troy, N. Y., came to Sprmgfield m 1856 and became a member of 
the firm, although the name G. &. C. Merriam remained unchanged. No 
further change was made in the business until 1882, when after the death 
of George Merriam and the retirement of his brother Charles, Orlando M. 
Baker and H. Curtis Rowley entered the partnership, which took the style 
G. & C. Merriam & Company. Mr. Baker was educated at Genesee Wes- 
leyan seminary and college, and taught for ten years in Milwaukee. I'rom 
1866 to 1874 he was in the book business, and was later chosen assistant state 
superintendent ot education in Missouri. He came to Springfield in 1877, 
and served the house five years previous to becoming a partner. Mr. Rowley 
is a son-in-law of Homer Merriam, and prepared for Yale at Whitestown 
seminary, but changed his plans and entered the army in 1864. In 1865 
he became a member of the book and engraving firm of L. S. Currier & 
Company, Cincinnati. In 1866 he founded the firm of Curry, Rowley 
& Company at Utica, N. Y., and conducted a wholesale stationery business 
until 1879, when he came to Springfield and took a position with the Mer- 
riams. In 1892 the firm was incorporated as the G. & C. Merriam company, 
with Homer Merriam as president, a position which he held until he moved 
to California in 1903. Mr. Baker then became president, with Mr. Rowley 
as treasurer and K. N. Washburn as secretary, the latter having been con- 
nected with the house ever since 1884, following a ten-years' experience in 
the schoolbook business. 

While in a historical sketch of Springfield, the greatest interest naturally 
centers in the personnel of the publishers of Webster's dictionary, there 
should be some mention made of the result of their work. The book as it 
came from Doctor Webster's hands was revised or added to, first in 1847, 
again in 1859, 1864, 1879, 1884, 1890, 1892, 1900, 1902, each date repre- 



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Springfield Present and Prospective 189 

senting some advance in accuracy, comprehensiveness or convenience. A 
complete series of school and college dictionaries was issued, the smaller 
books being handled by a New York house, but the largest abridgment, 
the Collegiate, and the smallest, a vest-pocket edition styled Webster's 
Little Gem dictionary, are published in Springfield in connection with the 
complete International. Of the latter, special editions are issued in Eng- 
land and for Australia. 

In every quarter of the globe wherever the English language is spoken, 
Webster's International dictionary is looked upon as an intellectual store- 
house, filled with the artistic, scientific, historic and legendary lore of every 
age and countrv, convenient m arrangement and terse in condensation. It 
represents a century of research, careful thought and painstaking compila- 
tion on the part of em:nent philologists, aided by linguists and men of letters 
in every leading profession, and of both English and foreign tongues. The 
best talent in the world has been constantly employed without regard to 
cost; the best type, ink, presswork and binding have been utilized, and in 
every way the firm has lived and worked closely upon the lines of its motto — 
"Get the Best." 

The Wa.son Manufacturing Company, the largest car-building works 
m New England, is at Brightwood. No manufacturing concern in Spring- 
field has become more world-famed, and none have, with the exception of 
the United States Armory, handled more money. The corporation was 
organized February i, 1862, with a capital of $50,000, taking over the car- 
building business of T. W. Wason & Company, commenced in 1845. In 
February, 1868, its capital was increased to $150,000, and in February, 
1881, to $300,000. In March, 1868, the company purchased the property 
then occupied by it upon Lyman street, just opposite the Union depot, and 
which it still owns. In June, 1868, it purchased the foundry and car-wheel 
business of Wason, Ladd & Company, and in 1870 the land now occupied 
by it in Brightwood, where in 1871 and 1872 it built its present shops, to 
which since that time large additions in buildings and machinery have been 
made. These buildings, constructed of wood and brick, are commodious 
and complete in every particular. They are said to be the best arranged of 
the sort in the United States. Here every part of the car is made. The 
workshops are on either side of a wide-gauge railway extending from the 
tracks of the Boston and Maine railroad company to the river bank. This 
forty-foot gauge track is traversed by a steam engine and carriage, by 
which arrangement the cars when completed are transferred from the shops 
to the track and thence, by means of switches, to the tracks of the Boston 
and Maine railroad. 

The founder of the business, Thomas W. Wason, died in 1870. His 
successor as president of the company, George C. Fisk, has been connected 



I go Springfield Present and Prospective 

with the business since 1852, and is now serving his fifty-fourth year. 
Henry S. Hyde became connected with the company at its organization in 
1862 as secretary, was chosen treasurer in l86g, and is now servmg his 
thirty-seventh year as such. Henry Pearson, now vice-president and general 
manager, has been connected with the company for twenty-four contmuous 
years. Louis C. Hyde has been chief accountant since 1876 and secretary 
since 1882. 

The Wason company when running to its fullest capacity employs 
seven hundred men, and its product has amounted to Si, 500,000 per annum. 
During the last five years its product has been $4,960,914, and its payment 
for labor gi, 430,635. 50. Its product can be found upon nearly all the steam 
railroads in the eastern states, and in many foreign countries. It built the 
first Woodruff, and first Pullman sleeping-car, and in 1858 completed the 
first order for cars to be exported ever filled in the United States. Its recent 
extens ve contracts have been for the Manhattan Elevated, and the Inter- 
borough Rapid Transit railway companies of New York, the New York, 
New Haven and Hartford railroad company, and for government railways 
of the Argentine republic, and electric work for Havana, as well as a large 
amount of steam and electric work for eastern railways aggregating in value 
over §500,000. 

Smith & Wesson. Pew cities can boast of an industry of so great an 
international reputation as that enjoyed by Smith & Wesson of Springfield. 
This firm were the pioneers in revolver manufacturing. The same re- 
markable business ability and inventive genius which gave the concern 
their start has caused the business to grow so rapidly that it is today the 
largest of its kind in the United States. The firm began business in 1857 
under the name of Smith & Wesson, and this name has always remained 
linchanged. The partnership was then composed of Horace Smith and 
Daniel B. Wesson. In 1874, Mr. Smith retired and Mr. Wesson continued 
alone until 1882, when his son, Walter H. Wesson, became a partner with 
him, and seven years later his other son, Joseph H. Wesson, was admitted 
to the firm. The business was first located on Market street, but in i860 it 
was moved to the present site on Stockbridge street. The main factory is a 
four-story brick structure, and extends from Stockbridge street through to 
Cross street. Several other large buildings have been erected since the 
factory proper w-as built so that now practically a whole block is occupied. 
At the beginning, only two styles of revolvers were made, but at the present 
time fourteen models are being manufactured. The output has steadily 
increased as the years have passed by, and today the production is ten 
thousand per month. In the busiest season over six hundred men are em- 
ployed, but five hundred men have steady employment the year round. 
From its inceptiort it has been the policy of the company to keep up with 



Springfield Present and Prospective 191 

the most recent inventions in their particular line, and they have never 
hesitated to buy up patents when it was for their interest to do so. 

The Smith & Wesson revolver has been exhibited at nearly every expo- 
sition of any great size for the past forty years, and has never failed to take 
the highest award. Among the first prizes secured were those awarded at 
Paris in 1867, Moscow in 1872, Vienna in 1873, Philadelphia in 1876, Paris 
in 1877, Melbourne in 1880, Paris in 1890, Chicago in 1892, Paris in 1900, 
Buffalo in 1902, and St. Louis in 1904. Such a splendid record maintained 
over a series of years is somethmg which not only the company itself may 
well be proud of but reflects great credit upon the city of Springfield. No 
revolver yet invented consists of comparatively so few parts, and accomplishes 
so much. Only the very best of steel is used and great attention is paid 
to the smallest details. Every revolver before it is put upon the market 
is very carefully tested for accuracy, penetration and workmanship, and 
when it leaves the factory is fully guaranteed. It is with good reason that 
the makers are able to claim for the Smith & Wesson revolver that it is 
"unequaled in excellence of material and workmanship, force, accuracy of 
firing, safety, simplicity of construction, and convenience in loading." 

Barney & Berry Company. The manufacture of skates, carried on 
so extensively by this concern, was begun in 1864 in the building then known 
as Warner's pistol factory at Pecowsic, and removed to Mill river in 1866. 
The reputation of the Barney & Berry skate grew rapidly and became so 
world-wide in the next ten years that a new factory was erected on Broad 
street. In 1882 these quarters were outgrown and the present handsome 
building was erected. It has a frontage of 200 feet on Broad street and 120 
feet on Elmwood street, and is three stories high. The firm employs only the 
most skilled workmen and uses material of the highest grade, which accounts 
for the award of highest medals for excellence wherever exhibited. In 1876, 
at Philadelphia, their company received the only medal awarded; in 1873, 
the highest medal at Vienna; and in 1878, the highest award at Paris. 

Everett H. Barney, founder of the Barney & Barry skate manufacturing 
industry, park commissioner and public-spirited citizen generally, is a man 
of ideas and untiring energy. Before he founded the skate business which 
has borne his name broadcast, and the product of his factory "wherever 
water freezes," he was a skilled mechanic for several years previous to his 
coming to Springfield, and was a superintendent in several manufactories of 
small arms. He was a skater from early youth, and his fondness for skating 
led him to turn his inventive faculties to a satisfactory skate. Long before 
he began the manufacture of them he had devised for his own use a metal- 
top skate, and was the first to put that kind of skate into the market. 
The Barney & Berry company was incorporated under the laws of Massa- 
chusetts in December, 1904, with E. H. Barney as president and W. P. 



192 Springfield Present and Prospective 

Dodge as treasurer. At present about one hundred men are employed at 
the factory. 

The Milton Bradley Company. Wherever American games and 
diversions are known — wherever education in this country has taken the 
kindergarten form — wherever publications touching the kindergarten and 
allied methods are known and studied, not to mention other interests and 
specialties — the name of Milton Bradley company of this city is familiarly 
and favorably known. Few people realize the immense variety of goods 
included under the name of kindergarten material, which ranges from a 
little box of pegs or straws to a kindergarten table or an elaborately illus- 
trated book. 

It was in l86q that Mr. Bradley came under the spell of the Froebelian 
philosophy, mamlv through the influence of Miss Elizabeth Peabod\', and 
Prof. Edward Wiebe, who was trying to introduce into Springfield the kinder- 
garten as known in Germany. The professor had prepared for publication 
a kindergarten guide, entitled "The Paradise of Childhood," and after much 
persuasion the firm ot Milton Bradley & Company consented to bring out 
the book. This action has never been regretted, for the volume, the first 
kindergarten guide ever printed in English, has been of great benefit to 
thousands of kindergarteners. The publication department is, today, of 
rapidly increasing importance, and includes the Kindergarten Review, a 
monthly magazine of high standing in its field. The lithographing branch 
of this large and varied business has increased with all the rest, and its 
presses are always crowded with large orders for color printing and first-class 
commercial work. Being pioneers in lithography in western Massachusetts, 
the company have a large accumulation of engravings adapted for wmk in 
this region. The reputation of the company for home amusements nas 
never been eclipsed. Some of the most successful games the country has 
ever seen have originated with this concern. In the early days of croquet, 
for example, their facilities were taxed to the utmost night and day to keep 
up with the demand. 

While in all this growth from small beginnings, Mr. Bradley, who >s 
treasurer of the company, has had many able assistants, yet his has been 
the guiding and controlling hand, and to him alone is due much of the 
present success of the company. 

The R. H. Smith Manufacturing Company'. Few industries owe so 
much to the energy and inventive genius of one man as does the rubber-stamp 
business to R. Hale Smith of this city, the founder and manager of this com- 
pany. Mr. Smith was born in Chicopee in 1845, ''"'^ after having had 
valuable experience with large concerns as machinist, toolmaker and 
draughtsman, he became associated in 1866 with B. B. Hill in the manu- 
facture of ribbon printing stamps, taking the mechanical superintenaencv 



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Springfield Present and Prospective 193 

of the business which grew to national prominence. In 1873, having de- 
veloped the manufacture of rubber stmaps, Mr. Smith determined to devote 
his whole attention to the new line. He severed his connection with Mr. 
Hill and started business alone in the present building under the name of 
R. H. Smith & Company, his brother, H. M. Smith, afterward joinmg him. 
The business prospered, and at the end often years had grown to such pro- 
portions that a change from a co-partnership was desirable, and in Decem- 
ber, 1883, the R. H. Smith Manufacturing company was incorporated with 
a paid-up capital of §30,000. The rubber and metal hand stamp-making 
industry is now so universally established that the chief business of the 
Smith company has long since become that of a stamp trade supply house, 
the larger share of their goods gomg to the stamp-makers and dealers where- 
ever located, but as from the start, they make a prominent feature of the 
designing and construction of vulcanizers and all other machinery and tools 
for the use of stamp-makers in the makmg of rubber stamps. As early as 
1876 they found England and the Continent a good field for their goods and 
cultivated it vigorously. Besides having placed many manufacturing outfits 
in Peru, Chili, Argentine and Brazil. Venezuela, Colombia and Equador 
they have gained a substantial foothold in Australia and New Zealand, 
South Africa, India and other British colonies. The company now has 
sales agencies of long standing in many parts of the world. For example, 
their London general agency has been housed at 170 Fleet street for twenty- 
four years, and their Rio Janeiro, Brazil, general agency has not changed 
managers for twenty-eight years. Many hundred stamp makers throughout 
this and foreign countries owe their existence to the R. H. Smith Manu- 
facturing company, who first fitted them up and have since furnished them 
with supplies necessary to carry on their business. The present officers of 
the company are R. Hale Smith, president and treasurer, Henry M. Smith 
and Arthur H. Rogers, vice presidents, and Frank A. Wakefield, secretary. 
The W. D. Kinsman Company, though not the largest of our depart- 
ment stores, must be accounted the oldest. No other name has been identi- 
fied with the dry-goods trade of Springfield so long a time as that of W. D. 
Kinsman, and with only three or four exceptions there are none who have 
been continuously in any line of business in this city so many years, Mr. 
Kinsman having established his business here in 1862. In 1879 he erected 
the building on the northwest corner of Main and Bridge streets, occupying 
the corner store since 1880. In 1901 the W. D. Kinsman company was 
incorporated, the other shareholders in the corporation being Howard L. 
Kinsman and George E. Scott, Mr. Scott having been with the house 
twenty-five years and H. L. Kinsman fifteen years. Mr. Kinsman's ambi- 
tion has not been to establish a great depaitment store, but rather to choose 
his trade and carry high-grade goods, and the store which he founded is 



194 Springfield Present and Prospective 

conceded to have the best class of Springfield dry goods trade. With the 
growth of our city Mr. Kinsman's trade has increased each year until now 
is has become necessary for the company to add more floor space, taking 
for that purpose the adjoining store occupied by Albert E. Lerche. 

Forbes & Wallace. Thirty-one years ago — in the year 1874 — the 
great business of Forbes & Wallace had its beginning. It was a small store 
in those days — the city was small, less than 30,000 inhabitants. But behind 
that early enterprise were men whose shrewd minds, whose intelligent and 
unwearied energies, were destined to place their standards on a height 
rarely reached in the business world. As the city grew, the store of Forbes & 
Wallace grew, but it far outstripped the tide of Springfield's population, until 
today, in its mammoth home, with its acres and acres of merchandise, its fair 
and honorable reputation, its genial hospitality, it ranks as a favorite trading 
center, not only of western New England, but of wide regions beyond. An 
idea of its immense patronage may be gained from the fact that probably as 
many as twenty times Springfield's entire population thronged in and out 
its doors in the past year; indeed, the great store, crowded with goods from 
every corner and clime of the world, is a veritable Wonderland, well worth 
a journey of many miles to see. 

Meekins, Packard & Wheat. The year following the great fire of 
1875 saw the beginning of many new business enterprises in Springfield. 
One of the most notable of these, in the light of later developments, was the 
establishment of the store now so widely known as Meekins, Packard & 
Wheat. In that year the late Emory Meekins, then a member of the firm of 
Tinkham & Company, formed a partnership with Mr. A. A. Packard, who 
had been for three years in charge of the carpet department in the same 
store, and opened a store at the present location of the Hampden Trust com- 
pany under the name of Meekins & Packard, dealing in carpets and house- 
furnishings. In one year the new firm was obliged to look for larger quarters, 
and accordingly two stores in the new block at the corner of Main and Hill- 
man streets were hurriedly completed for their use, and the spring of 1877 
saw them established at the location which has ever since been associated 
with this firm. New departments were now added and the business of the 
store grew at a remarkable rate. Dry goods had now been included in the 
stock, and the other departments had been doubled in size. In 1879 Mr. 
W. G. Wheat acquired an interest in the business and a few years later 
became one of the partners, the firm name being changed to Meekins, 
Packard & Company and later to Meekins, Packard & Wheat. Since Mr. 
Meekins' death in 1900 Messrs. Packard and Wheat have been the sole 
proprietors. In the meantime drapery and furniture departments had been 
added and the growth of the business had compelled repeated enlargements. 
A phenomenal growth has attended the development of this store. While 




Carr BuilJin^ on Harrison Avenue 



Springfield Present and Prospective 195 

the city has been doubling its population this store has doubled its capacity 
a dozen times over, until today it is one of the largest houses in New England, 
depending for its business not alone upon Springfield and nearby towns and 
cities but reaching out all over New England and even beyond the borders 
of the six eastern states. From a store twenty by seventy feet with a force of 
three men (the two members of the firm and a colored boy) this establishment 
has grown until today it has several hundred employes on its payroll, and 
with its handsome new building just completed on Hillman street, it occu- 
pies six and one-half acres of floor space. 

Smith & Murray. This department store started modestly April 19, 
1879, at the corner of Court square and Main street, occupying the ground 
floor and basement, each being forty-five feet by a hundred feet, or nine 
thousand square feet floor space. Still on the same corner, by a constant 
application to what is best in business methods, they added store after store, 
until now the doors include twelve numbers on Springfield's busiest street. 
The store occupies five floors in one block and six in another, over sixty 
thousand square feet more floor space than at the beginning. Both of the 
founders of this concern were Scotch by birth, having been educated in 
Scotland, and learned the dry-goods business first in their native towns, and 
later in Glasgow, Scotland. Coming to America in their early manhood they 
were employed in some of Boston's famous dry-goods stores before starting 
the business that now bears their name. Smith & Murray have developed a 
wholesale business of considerable proportions, all of which helps to make 
Springfield the splendid business center it is. One of the two men who 
founded the business, John M. Smith, died December 12, 1898. The 
other, Peter Murray, still stands at the head, guiding with skill the many 
departments. 

Haynes & Company. The firm of Haynes & Company, founded in 
1849 ''y *he late Tilly Haynes, has practically "grown up" with Springfield 
during the past half century, as its growth has been closely identified with 
that of the city. In 1855, Theodore L. Haynes purchased from his brother 
his interest in the business, and has since conducted it, having been assisted 
for a number of years by another brother, John Haynes, and for the past 
five years by his son, Stanford L. Haynes. Mr. Theodore Haynes has always 
been proud of Springfield as a city and the part his firm has played in 
making it the trading center it is today. For years he was active in the work 
of the Boardof Tradeand supplied the earlyhomeofthe board in his building; 
later his son, Stanford Haynes, served for five years on the directorate of 
the board. The feeling of the firm has always been that what it is and has 
it owes to Springfield, and it is always willing to do whatever it can for 
Springfield in return. There are today in New England very few concerns 
dealing in goods strictly for men and boys that can boast of anywhere near 
the volume of business yearly handled by Haynes & Company. 



196 Springfield Present and Prospective 

Charles Hall, after being burned out by the great Chicago fire, 
thirty-three years ago, settled on Springfield as the best place in which to 
start anew. He bought out the bankrupt stock of the Httle store then occu- 
pying the present site, and by a steady, heakhy business growth developed 
the largest wholesale and retail trade in his line in New England outside of 
Boston. His trade not only covers western Massachusetts, but extends to 
Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The stock in 
trade is not confined to the choice line of china and glassware, but includes 
selected odd pieces of furniture, sterling silver articles, and nearly everything 
with which to decorate a home. There are whole departments devoted to 
choice products of art, others to mantels, tiles, fireplace furnishings, gas and 
electrical fixtures and stained glass windows. While the stock is remarkable 
for the amount and beauty of its fine goods, and while it includes no "Cheap 
John" wares, it at the same time is adapted to all purses. 

KiBBE Brothers Company ranks among the oldest and most reliable 
business houses of the city, and have the distinction of being the largest 
confectionery manufacturers in New England outside of Boston. From 
1843, when Horace Kibbe, who had previously been making lozenges in a 
little shop on Cross street, bought of Cicero Simons and George A. Kibbe 
a small retail candy store, the business has steadily increased, the company 
now occupying large buildings on Harrison avenue and employing about 
three hundred and fifty hands. The wholesale trade of this company was 
originally started with one two-horse team and was gradually enlarged 
until eight four-horse wagons were continually on the road visiting all towns 
within a radius of seventy-five to one hundred miles from Springfield. The 
growth of the railroad and trolley systems has driven away these teams, but 
their places are taken by men with sample cases who cover the larger part 
of New England and New York state, and shipments are also made to 
California and many other Western states. 

From 1843 f° '^49 Cicero Simons was associated with Horace Kibbe, 
the company being called Simons & Kibbe. H. B. Crane succeeded Mr. 
Simons in 1849, -"t^ fo"'' years later George A. Kibbe again entered the 
candy business, the firm now becoming Kibbe, Crane & Co. Mr. Crane 
retired in 1863 and the following year Edwin .McElwain and Sherman D. 
Porter were taken into partnership and the firm name changed to Kibbe 
Brothers & Company. To these two men is largely due the present success 
and high standing of this well-known confectionery house. George A. Kibbe 
died in 1882, and after the death of Horace Kibbe in 1887 the business was 
continued by Messrs. McElwain & Porter, and in 1890 the factory was 
moved from Main street, where it had been for twenty-eight years, to larger 
quarters on Harrison avenue. The first building erected on the present site 
was a five-story structure with a frontage of eighty and a depth of one 



Springfield Present and Prospective 197 

hundred and thirty feet. Large additions have since been built until at 
present the company occupies over 125,000 square feet of floor space and 
the dail}' output of candy exceeds twelve tons. 

In 1892 Kibbe Brothers company was incorporated under Massachu- 
setts laws with a capital stock of Sloo,ooo. The present officers are Sherman 
D. Porter, president; Edwin McElwain, treasurer; Charles C. McElwain, 
assistant treasurer, Robert R. Cleeland, secretary. 

The E. Stebbins Manufacturing Company. In the evolution of the 
modern dwelling, nothing has shown more marked advancement and pro- 
gress than the development which has taken place in sanitary and plumbing 
conditions and appliances. Among the foremost manufacturers of brass 
plumbing goods in this country is the E. Stebbins Manufacturing company 
of this city. This company was begun in a small way by Erastus Stebbins 
of Chicopee for the manufacture of a patented compression faucet, which is 
still made by the concern. Outgrowing its quarters, the business was moved 
to Taylor street in this city in 1861, where it remained until the fire m 1875, 
having in the meantime been sold by Mr. Stebbins, passed through several 
hands and been incorporated in 1872. After the fire it was moved to its 
present quarters in Brightwood. This company has won an enviable repu- 
tation as manufacturers of the highest grade of sanitary and plumbing 
goods, including not only compression goods but a full line of Fuller and 
ground key work, besides many miscellaneous items, among which is the 
Broughton self-closing work, which stands highest of any work of its class 
in the country. For several years it has been unable to keep pace with the 
orders which come to it from different sections of the country, and recently 
has made extensive additions to its plant. The annual production of this 
company today is sufficient to supply, complete, a city of twice the number 
of inhabitants of Springfield. The officers of the company are H. M. 
Brewster, president, and A. H. Warner, treasurer. 

The Bay St.^te Corset Company is one of the most prominent and 
noticeable industries of the city, and makes the largest and most varied line 
of corsets and waists of any concern in America, its most celebrated brand 
being the \V. T. corset. The company was among the early pioneers in 
the manufacture of corsets, and was started at West Brookfield, Mass. A 
branch was opened in Springfield later which was subsequently enlarged 
and the factory at West Brookfield closed out. The Bay State Corset com- 
pany was organized in 1885 and was incorporated under the laws of Massa- 
chusetts in 1890. Much of the early success of the company was due to 
A. D. Nason, who for over fifteen years was its president, treasurer and 
general manager. The capacity of the plant has been increased from time 
to time until at present it occupies 75,000 square feet of floor space, and 
has a capacity for turning out over six hundred dozen corsets per day. 



198 Springfield Present and Prospective 

which are sold in every city of the United States and exported to foreign 
countries. 

The present officers of the Bay State Corset company are William M. 
Titus, president and manager, and Royal J. Wright, treasurer. For many 
years previous to being chosen president, Mr. Titus was one of the leading 
and most popular salesmen known to the trade. He has been active in 
local club life and is prominent in Board of Trade affairs. He is known 
throughout the trade centers of the country, and to his untiring efforts and 
strict maintenance of the high standard grade of goods manufactured, and 
fair and just dealings with all patrons, is due the present prosperous condition 
of the company. 

FiSK Manufacturing Company. Like many of the largest soap- 
makers of the country, the Fisk Manufacturing company's first product 
was candles. That was half a century ago, and the company consisted of 
Thomas F. Fisk, then a resident of Hinsdale, N. H. The business flourished 
from the start and grew to such proportions that it was thought best to move 
the entire plant to Springfield. This change took place in 1864. The pres- 
ent extensive factory on Walker street demonstrates conclusively that the 
growth was not retarded by the process of transplanting. Like the majority 
of Springfield's industries, the products of the Fisk Manufacturing company 
are national in their distribution. It would be hard indeed to find a place 
where Fisk's Japanese soap is unknown. This has been accomplished by 
extensive advertising and the manufacture of an article of remarkable merit. 
More recently the Fisk Manufacturing company have introduced Japine, a 
washing powder that cleanses without rubbing, scrubbing or boiling, and 
which is guaranteed not to shrink flannels. The latest addition to the list is 
known as Auto-car soap, and is made in response to a general demand for a 
soap that will remove grease and grime from highly-polished surfaces with- 
out streaking or scratching or dulling. In addition to these specialties the 
Fisk Manufacturing company make a wide variety of mill and manufac- 
turers' soaps. These are used in silk, woolen and worsted mills; in paper 
works, dye houses and kindred branches of industry. It is interesting to 
note that the raw material used by this company are almost wholly 
imported from Europe, the larger part coming from France, Germany and 
Italy. 

Since 1880, the Fisk Manufacturing company has been a stock company, 
capitalized at $50,000. George C. Fisk is the president and treasurer, H. G. 
Fisk, clerk, and W. S. L. Hawkins, agent. From the time of its establish- 
ment to the present date this company has stood an excellent example of 
what may be accomplished by thrift, perseverance and good management. 
While there are many concerns of greater magnitude, it is safe to say that 
few stand higher in the estimation of the business world. 




Hiiriisun Aveiiuf lookim; toward Mum Strict 







as 



Springfield Present and Prospective igg 

Knox Automobile Company. Experiments with air-cooled automo- 
biles were inaugurated in this city in February, 1900, by E. H. Cutler and 
a half-dozen business men whom he associated with him as the Knox 
Automobile company. In July of the same year these men decided to 
enter upon the manufacture of motor cars, and adopted a three-wheel 
model. They were located in a small wooden factory on Waltham avenue, 
and at that time employed ten men. In 1902 they discarded the three-wheel 
model and began making four-wheeled cars. From that time the business 
grew very rapidly. In 1903 they purchased the large plant owned by the 
George A. Shastey company, retaining their old shop. At that time they 
took on the manufacture of bodies, which also takes a large amount of space. 
In 1904 another large four-story brick factory was erected, which gives the 
company a total floor space of over eight acres, and during a large part of 
the year they employ over six hundred men. The company has its own 
salesrooms m New York and Philadelphia, and has agents in all the large 
cities and towns throughout the United States. They are the largest manu- 
facturers of gasoline commercial cars in the United States, and are shipping 
them to all parts of the world. In July, 1901, the partnership was dissolved 
and a corporation formed under the same name with a capital of ^^60,000, 
which in 1903 was increased to ^200,000. The officers of the company are 
E. H. Cutler, president, W. E. Wright, vice-president, Albert E. Smith, 
treasurer, and H. G. Farr, secretary and superintendent. These gentlemen 
have all been associated with the company from the first. The product of 
the company last year was valued at more than $1,000,000. 

The Elektron Manufacturing Company. The development of the 
electric elevator has been marked; it has steadily increased in favor, until 
now it is firmly established among leading architects, engineers and builders 
as the most reliable and economical of all types of elevators. The Elektron 
manufacturing company early saw the many advantages of the electric 
elevator, and for fifteen years has improved on their first machines, sparing 
no expense to make them the highest grade of elevators produced. The 
success with which these efforts have been rewarded is shown by the enviable 
reputation that Elektron apparatus has enjoyed for many years. This 
company has installed elevators in all parts of the United States and a num- 
ber in foreign countries, but its principal territory is New York, Washington, 
Boston, Rochester, N. Y., and neighboring cities. It has a force of men 
erecting elevators in each of the above-named places. The sizes of its eleva- 
tors range from the small dumbwaiter to those of sufficient size to lift a 
loaded truck team — horses and all. A type of elevator known as the "full 
automatic push-button control" has attained large popularity. With this 
elevator no operator is required, as the passenger simply presses the button 
corresponding with the floor to which he desires to go and the elevator pro- 



200 Springfield Present and Prospective 

ceeds to that floor, stopping automatically. Tins elevator is absolutely safe 
and is so simple that children five years of age readily operate it. The 
Elektron company also manufactures a complete line of electric motors, 
generators, organ blowing motors, controllers, ventilating fans and other 
electrical machinery. The growth of this business has been steady and 
healthy. Starting in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1888, with a few men building 
small motors, the company now employs about one hundred and fifty men 
in the factory and also the several gangs which are outside erecting elevators. 
The officers of the company are W. D. Sargent, president, E. H. Cutler, 
treasurer, L. J. Harley, superintendent, and L. J. Harley, Jr., Assistant 
treasurer. 

The Taber-Prang Art Company is another Springfield concern which 
has gained repute not only in the United States but in many other 
countries as well. Its rank as an art publishing house, producing Amer- 
ican art calendars and novelties of every description, is among the first 
in the world, and its picture-framing department is perhaps the largest 
in this country. The company was incorporated in 1897 with a capital 
stock of ;?550,ooo, it buying out at that time the entire property of the Taber 
Art company of New Bedford, Mass., and the L. Prang & Company of 
Boston. The officers are Dwight O. Gilmore, president, Frederic Taber, 
vice-president, Theodore Leete, treasurer and general manager. 

The Massasoit House is the oldest and perhaps the most widely 
known hotel in western Massachusetts, and though time changes all things 
the spirit of change has not yet come over the reputation of this well-known 
hostelry. Travelers still come and go, but as of yore this house registers 
the most prominent families of those who make Springfield a brief sojourn. 
Erected in 1843, the hotel has since been considerably enlarged so that it 
is now more than three times its original size. The interior appointments 
have always been of a luxurious character, and they have suffered no deter- 
ioration, while the cuisine maintains its old-time high reputation. The 
present proprietor, W. H. Chapin, is a nephew of M. and E. S. Chapin, and 
has been connected with the house about thirty years. 

Cooley's Hotel. The traveling public judge a town or city by its 
hotels. Springfield is fortunate in this respect. Cooley's hotel, established in 
1848, has always kept to a high standard, constantly enlarging and improv- 
ing. The original buildings have been replaced with new, so that the 
Cooley house ranks with the leading hotels in New England, equipped with 
all modern conveniences. Henry E. Marsh, the proprietor, is constantly 
watchful for the comfort of his guests, and it is largely due to his personal 
efforts that the house has gained a high reputation, above even that which 
it already enjoyed. Detailed description of a house such as the one whose 
office interior is shown in this engraving counts for but little, but some idea 





All roods lead to Sprmgfeld 




Ivl'tlllin^, 




lll^|li|l:Wi1Lrrifiii|i 






rfMmm 






^New Ofice Interior of Cooiey Hotel -The Republican Building, corner of Main Street 
and Harrison Avenue 



Springfield Present and Prospective 20i 

as to its appointments may be gained when it is mentioned that it has accom- 
modations for three hundred guests and contains seventy-five private bath 
rooms. Many are the notable men who have responded to toasts within its 
famous banquet hall. The Board of Trade banquets held here, have as 
their special guests of honor, men of high office and distinction, the most 
recent of whom, and one much in the public eye, being Baron Kaneko, the 
Mikado's special peace envoy to the president. 

The Press 
Springfield is proud of its newspapers. They are a credit to the 
city and a power in the journalistic field, moulding public opinion 
and holding brilliant sway over their readers. They are far above 
the average, and maintain high standards and ideals. They are 
our heralds. abroad, reflecting the character of the population — the 
education and refinement of the great body of Springfield people. 

The Springfield Republican is one of the oldest business institutions 
in the city. It was established September 8, 1824, by Samuel Bowles, the 
second of that name, who came from Hartford, Conn., where he had been one 
of the editors and proprietors of the Times. It was published by Mr. Bowles 
for twenty years as a weekly before the daily edition was started on March 
27, 1844. The latter was first issued as an evening paper but in a few months 
was changed to a morning publication and has so continued since. About 
the time when the daily was begun, Mr. Bowles' son, Samuel 3d, was taken 
into business with him, and under the son's leadership in later years the 
Republican became widely famous and influential. The elder Bowles died 
in 1851. Other men became associated in the proprietorship of the paper 
and of an extensive general printing and publishing business which gradually 
developed, notably Dr. Josiah (j. Holland, the author and lecturer, Clark 
W. Bryan and Benjamin F. Bowles. The firm of Samuel Bowles & Com- 
pany prospered, especially during the civil war and the boom years that 
followed it. The Republican was enlarged and strengthened from time to 
time in anticipation of the growing demands and opportunities of the field. 
It became the newspaper not merely of Springfield but of all western Massa- 
chusetts. In 1872 Mr. Bowles determined that it was desirable for the greater 
editorial freedom of the paper to separate it from the general printing and 
publishing business, and a division of the interests was accordingly made. 
The printing establishment is preserved in the present Springfield Printing 
and Binding company. Samuel Bowles 3d died on January 16, 1878, and 
was succeeded in the management of the paper by his son of the same name, 
who is still in control. The concern was then reorganized as a corporation 
under the name of the Republican company with Samuel Bowles as president 



202 Springfield Present and Prospective 



and treasurer. The Sunday Republican was first published on September 
15, 1878, and three editions of the paper have appeared regularly since — 
the daily, the Sunday, and the weekly. 

The Republican has been published from eight different locations in 
the eighty-one years of its existence. Mr. Bowles 2d set up his hand press, 
which had been poled up the Connecticut river on a flat-boat from Hartford, 
in a building on the west side of Main street between State and Elm, and 
nearly opposite the post office of those days. In 1836 the office was moved 
to the second floor of the Frost building, a wooden structure on the north 
corner of Main and Sanford streets, which was burned in 1845, and remained 
there until 1844 when it was transferred across Main street to the then new 
brick block of the Chicopee bank. In 1 850 Mr. Bowles bought or con- 
structed a brick building at the northeast corner of Market and Sanford 
streets, in which the paper and job printing plants were established and 
remained until 1853. The business office was on the ground floor. This 
building is still standing. Shortly before the civil war the Republican block, 
now the Brigham building, was erected by local capitalists on Main street, 
next north of Townsley avenue, especially for the accommodation of the 
paper and its connected departments. Here the business rapidly expanded 
until 1867, when more room was needed, and the establishment was moved 
across Townsley avenue into Franklin block, also built expressly for its use 
by the Second National bank. Eleven years later another move was made 
to the new granite block at 417 and 419 Main street provided by the Five 
Cents savings bank. By this time the paper was conducted independently 
of other interests and less room was needed for its accommodation. In 1888 
the Republican company bought the First Baptist church property on the 
jiorth corner of Main street and Harrison avenue, of O. H. Greenleaf for 
;S50,ooo and put up the present Republican building at an expense of 
^60,000 more. It has since enjoyed one of the most convenient, best lighted 
and appointed newspaper offices in the country. The location is in the cen- 
ter of the retail district of the city and on one of its most prominent business 
corners. 

The Republican has long been distinguished by three marked features — - 
the fullness and superior quality of its local news service, the vigor and 
breadth of its editorial articles, the richness and excellence of its literary 
department. In all of these lines it has improved and expanded with the 
years and the development of its own resources. It has always been the 
policy of the paper to deal most liberally with its readers, to give them in 
improved service, both as to quality and volume, all that its revenues would 
permit. As a result it has a singularly loyal and appreciative although 
often critical constituency. 



Springfield Present and Prospective 203 

Nearly one hundred persons are fully employed in the editorial, mechan- 
ical and business departments of the paper, and in addition it has a large 
staff of correspondents who devote a part of their time each day to its service. 
Its weekly payroll averages well over ?2000. It operates nine Mergenthaler 
linotype machines, all of which it owns, their cost value being ^^3000 each. 
Its press is a Hoe quadruple of the best type, costing ;?35,00O. Its machines, 
including the big press, are run by electric motors, but it has also a full, 
up-to-date steam power plant for use as a reserve in emergencies. The 
Republican's editorial staff is unusually large for a paper published in a 
city of the size of Springfield. Its leading members are S. B. Griffin, man- 
aging editor; Ernest Howard and Waldo L. Cook, editorial writers; Charles 
G. Whiting and Francis E. Regal, literary editors; George K. Turner, 
local editor; Richard S. Brooks, general news editor; Edward F. Hayes, 
editor of the weekly; F. B. Sanborn and R. L. Bridgman, Boston corres- 
pondents; Richard Hooker, Washington correspondent. The directors of 
the Republican company are Samuel Bowles, S. B. Griffin, and George S. 
Lewis, the last the veteran cashier of the establishment. 

The Springfield Union, the oldest evening newspaper in western 
Massachusetts, was founded by Edmund Anthony of New Bedford, Janu- 
ary 4, 1864. It was in the dark days of the civil war, and the paper took its 
name from the cause it espoused. The first office of publication was in 
Pynchon street, in the rear of Haynes hotel, and the old-fashioned type 
cases and the primitive little press which were crowded into these narrow 
quarters would make an amusing contrast with the typesetting machines 
and the huge multiple presses in use today. The Union appeared only as 
an evening newspaper until July 2, 1892, when the morning edition was 
started, and two years later the Sunday Union was established. 

The early days of the Union were marked by many changes in proprie- 
torship, and it was not until 1872, under the ownership of Lewis H. Taylor, 
that it began to yield a profitable return. In that year it was sold to the 
Clark W. Bryan company, which conducted an important printing and 
binding business. William M. Pomeroy was appointed editor, retaining 
that position until he was succeeded in March, 1881, by Joseph L. Shipley. 
A year afterward Mr. Shipley organized a stock company, in which he held 
the majority interest, purchased the Union, and for the ensuing eight years 
directed its policy, business and editorial. The last change in ownership 
and management came in April, 1 890, when the paper was sold to the 
Sprngfield Union Publishing company, Mr. Shipley retiring. The Union 
then entered upon a new epoch. Albert P. Langtry, who came to Spring- 
field after a valuable training in the metropolitan newspaper field, was 
made business manager and soon afterward publisher, a position he has 
held since then, John D. Plummet succeeding him as business manager. 



204 Springfield Present and Prospective 

There was a strong demand for a morning Republican newspaper in 
western New England, and when the Morning Union was launched on 
July 2, 1892, it met with immediate success. In July, 1894, during the rail- 
road strike in Chicago, when a clash between the strikers and the Federal 
troops seemed imminent, an extra edition of the Union was published on 
Sunday, simply to give the news from the seat of the trouble. This venture 
was so successful that it was repeated the following Sunday, and it was then 
decided to make the Sunday edition a permanent feature. 

In politics from the beginning the Union has held consistently to the 
support of Republican principles, and has been unwavering in its party 
allegiance, but it has taken a broad view of matters of public importance 
and its editorial pages have always been open to a full and free discussion 
of all subjects. Its news service is unsurpassed in its own field. As a mem- 
ber of the Associated Press it receives the news of the world over two wires 
working day and night, and this service is supplemented by special corres- 
pondents in Washington and other important news centers. In its home 
field there is a correspondent in every city and town, and two distinct staffs 
of editors and reporters handle the news of the city, state and nation for the 
morning and evening editions. 

The Union's aim is to provide a bright, newsy, clean family newspaper. 
It takes a lively interest in civic affairs, and is ever watchful of the interests 
of the community it serves. A feature of the Sunday Union is the discussion 
of the important events of the week in the cities and towns of Western Mas- 
sachusetts. 

Four times since its establishment has the Union been compelled to seek 
larger quarters. From the original place of publication in Pynchon street 
the paper moved to the building at the corner of Main and Taylor streets, 
now known as the City hotel. Its next home was at the corner of Main and 
Worthington streets, on the site of the Hotel Worthy building, and from 
there it moved to the opposite corner, where the disastrous fire of March 7, 
1888, occurred. In 1894 the Springfield Union Publishing company pur- 
chased the building at 335 Main street, which was remodeled to suit the 
requirements of a newspaper office, and this was occupied the following 
year. During the past ten years its growth has been so great that this build- 
ing must be extensively enlarged in the near future, or more commodious 
quarters secured elsewhere. 

The Springfield Daily News for the greater part of twenty-five 
years, has been the only one-cent newspaper in Springfield, and during that 
period it has never had but one competitor in the matter of selling-price. 
Like all newspapers the Daily News has grown with the times and it is 
today a very different paper in all respects from the publication which 
Edward Bellamy and Charles J. Bellamy started first as the Penny News, 



Springfield Present and Prospective 205 

the latter appearing for about two and one-half months previous to being 
changed in name and frequency of issue. The first issue of the Penny News 
was on February 24, 1880. The publishers of it were Edward Bellamy, for 
eight years previous an editor on the Springfield Union, and Charles J. 
Bellamy, a member of the Hampden county bar. Neither then had any idea 
of devoting much time to the publication and probably did not imagine that 
the field for it would so soon be so large that they would be compelled to give 
a great deal of their time to it. The modest little sheet, however, was wel- 
comed by the public with so much favor that the publishers quickly saw the 
advantage of turning it into a daily newspaper, which was done May 13, 
1880. But even with this change in its policy the Daily News did not at the 
outset aspire to be classified with the ordinary newspaper published every 
day. Editorial comment was not indulged in, there were no telegraphic 
dispatches in its columns, no particular political principles were espoused, 
and the paper did not attempt to systematically chronicle the general news 
of the world or of the locality. Its editor, Edward Bellamy, aimed to print 
only such material as was considered to be interesting for its piquant, dra- 
matic, or other features. It continued along these lines for about three 
years. In 1883 the first step forward was taken in the publishing of a com- 
plete record of the news. One year later, editorial comment appeared in its 
columns for the first time and it was still longer before the use of a daily 
telegraphic service was inaugurated. It was competion that urged the 
Daily News on to more ambitious endeavors. In 1883 the Daily Democrat 
was established, being more expensively gotten up than the Daily News of 
that time, and to add to the complications, Edward Bellamy decided to 
retire from the active newspaper field in order to devote his time to literary 
work, a conclusion that was responsible for his "Looking Backward" and 
other works that attracted the attention of the world. 

Charles J. Bellamy, who then became and has since remained the sole 
publisher and manager of the News, fully realized that the paper was filling 
a place in the community and that ultimate success was ahead. Its com- 
petitor, the Daily Democrat, had ceased publication and the circulation of 
the Daily News was largely increased and constantly growing. Twice the 
paper was enlarged until the full limit of the original press had been reached 
and then, a new press being secured, the paper was enlarged to eight pages. 
This was the most important epoch in the history of the paper up to that 
time. Then came the installation of a full daily telegraph service, and 
gradually, the enlargement of its editorial force and other departments until 
the Daily News is now the largest and most complete, highest grade and 
most expensively gotten up one-cent paper in New England. In 1894 the 
News moved from lower Worthington street, just below the Whitney build- 
ing, to its own building at the corner of Dwight and Worthington streets, 
since which time the circulation of the paper has doubled. 



2o6 Springfield Present and Prospective 

The Daily News presents in complete form the news of the world 
through the Publishers' Press association, the local field being thoroughly 
covered and the news of the immediate suburban field carefully looked after. 
The mechanical department is equipped with the latest typesetting machines 
and other devices, and the office is in other ways thoroughly equipped for 
the getting out of a daily newspaper of influence in the community. 

Springfield Homestead, now in its twenty-seventh year, published 
semi-weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays, fills a large place in the social 
and commercial community of Springfield. The Homestead is the hand- 
somest paper typographically and from an illustrative standpoint published 
in this vicinity. It is frank and fearless in its utterances on local matters, 
independent politically, and insistent in matters affecting the public weal 
locally. Its crusades against the billboard nuisance and its refusal to allow 
patent-medicine and other indecent advertising in its columns has won for 
it much commendation, and several local organizations have passed resolu- 
tions to this effect. The Homestead has a large circulation in Springfield 
and the immediate vicinity, and sends copies to every state in the Union. 
The publishers are the Springfield Homestead Newspaper company, a 
Massachusetts corporation with a nominal capital of ;?30,ooo. James E. 
Sullivan is editor-in-chief and conducts the paper. The company is success- 
ful; has paid since its incorporation ten per cent dividends. The Home- 
stead is published in the company's own building, 84 to 86 West Worthing- 
ton street, in the rear of the post office. 

The Phelps Publishing Company. Springfield is the home of a large 
periodical publishing house — one of the largest in New England — the Phelps 
Publishing company, with which is allied the Orange Judd company. From 
the extensive plant of this concern on West Worthington street are issued 
a series of agricultural papers which constitute the largest group of the kind 
in the world, and the Good Housekeeping magazine in addition, a household 
monthly which ranks with the best and circulates over 200,000 copies of 
each issue. 

The I helps Publishing company, established in 1880 by late Edward 
H. Phelps and others, publishes the semi-monthly Farm and Horne, an 
agricultural and family journal of much ability and enterprise, with a 
circulation of 375,000 copies. The influence of Farm and Home in the 
great movements for the economic and social betterment of the farmers 
of the entire United States has been very marked. Its editor is Herbert 
Myrick, the president of the Phelps Publishing company, the author of 
several books dealing with agricultural problems and a leader of farmer's 
movements from Maine to California. The establishment employs over 
three hundred hands and comprises a thoroughly up-to-date newspaper, 
magazine and book-publishing equipment, including electrotyping and 



Springfield Present and Prospective 207 

photo-engraving. It manufactures the Orange Judd company's agricultural 
weeklies, namely, American Agriculturist of New York (and westward to 
Indiana), and the New England Homestead. These papers, like Farm and 
Home, are under the editorial direction of Herbert Myrick, and have an 
immense influence. This company manufactures likewise the many agri- 
cultural and horticultural books published by the Orange Judd company 
and sold at the latter's headquarters, 52 Lafayette Place, New York. The 
two companies have a considerable office and editorial force in Chicago for 
the western field. 

The monthly output of the several periodicals is rapidly approaching 
the 2,000,000 mark; Farm and Home with 400,000, Good Housekeeping 
with 200,000, and the Orange Judd Weeklies with 230,000 copies of each 
issue. So huge is the bulk of second-class mail going out that the mailing 
room is constituted a post office, and the sacks of papers and magazines go 
directly to the railroad station, ready assorted for their respective states 
and "runs." The city post office has not the space nor the facilities, by half, 
for the handling of this matter. More pieces of mail, more weight of mail, 
and more bulk of mail are despatched from the buildings of the Phelps 
Publishing company than from all the rest of the city of Springfield put 
together. 

While the magazine Good Housekeeping is published by the Phelps 
Publishing company, under the editorship of James E. Tower, its owner- 
ship is vested in the Good Housekeeping company. The officers of the 
three corporations, of which the Phelps Publishing company owns a con- 
trolling interest, are as follows: 

The Phelps Publishing company, incorporated under the laws of Massa- 
chusetts, capital stock $250,000. President, Herbert Myrick; vice-president, 
James M. Cunningham, who is subscription manager of all the publications; 
treasurer, Albert W. Fulton, who is managing editor of the agricultural 
papers; directors, in addition to the foregoing, William A. Whitney (who is 
advertising manager of all the publications), A. Willard Damon, Frederick 
Harris; assistant treasurer, Charles M. Hill. 

Orange Judd company, incorporated under the laws of New York, 
capital stock $500,000, headquarters 52 Lafayette Place, New York. Presi- 
dent, Herbert Myrick; vice-president, William A. Whitney; treasurer, 
Thomas A. Barrett; directors, in addition to the foregoing, James M. Cun- 
ningham, A. Willard Damon, Frederick Harris, Warren W. Rawson; secre- 
tary, Joseph W. Kennedy. 

The Good Housekeeping company, incorporated under the laws of 
Maine, capital stock $l ,000,000, headquarters 52 Lafayette Place, New York. 
President, Herbert Myrick; vice-president, James M. Cunningham; treas- 
urer, William A. Whitney; editor of the magazine, James E. Tower; secre- 



2o8 Springfield Present and Prospective 

tary, Charles M. Hill; in charge of agents, James S. |udd; directors, in 
addition to the foregoing, A. Willard Damon, Joseph W. Kennedy, 
Frederick Harris, Randall W. Burns. 

Financial Institutions 

The general development and progress of a city is so intimately 
connected with its banking facilities that the history of one is 
closely allied with that of the other. While Springfield was yet in 
its infancy, a town of only three thousand inhabitants — while the 
second struggle with Great Britain was still raging with fury and the 
capital of Washington was threatened by the British, — the solid men 
of Springfield sought to increase the manufacturing possibilities of 
the locality by organizing a bank to supply manufacturers with 
banking facilities that they might profit in the expansion of business 
brought on by the war. 

In 1814, Jonathan Dwight, John Hooker, George Bliss, James 
Byers, James Dwight, Justin Ely, Jonathan Dwight, Jr., Moses 
Bliss, Jr., Edward Pynchon and Oliver B. Morris, met in "Uncle 
Jerry Warriner's tavern" and formed an organization which ob- 
tained from the state a charter for a bank to be known as the Spring- 
field bank, whose capital should be ;Ji200,ooo "in gold and silver." 
The first president of the new institution was Jonathan Dwight, 
whose successors were such well-known men as James Byers, John 
Hooker, Benjamin Day, Edward A. Morris and Henry Alexander. 
The first location of the bank was on State street, in the building 
now occupied by Wilder's grain store, and here also was first located 
the Springfield Institution for Savings, when that was organized in 
1827, the two continuing together until 1849. 

The bank prospered from the beginning under the management 
of such men, and it loaned to single local individuals to the extent 
of a hundred thousand dollars, thus early fostering the manufactur- 
ing industries which have been the making of Springfield. Today 
Springfield has eight national banks and two trust companies with 
total deposits of over fifteen millions of dollars, aside from the several 
prosperous institutions for savings. 

The Second National Bank. The old Springfield bank was reorgan- 
ized in 1863 as a national bank, being one of the earliest banks to avail itself of 
the National Bank Act, its charter number being 181. Soon after its reorgan- 



Springfield Present and Prospective 20g 

ization it moved from its original quarters on State street to its present location 
on Main street. Its first president as a national bank was Henry Alexander, 
who stood foremost among the financial men of the cit)' and whose loyalty 
to the government during the dark days of the rebellion led him to invest 
large sums in government bonds, which later proved very profitable to the 
bank. For almost fifty years Lewis Warriner was cashier, giving that careful 
attention to detail and having that knowledge of his clients which make a 
successful banker. Among the successors of Henry Alexander as president 
have been Alfred Rowe, Albert T. Folsom (for many years city treasurer), 
and Gurdon Bill, who was one of the directors at the reorganization as a 
national bank and who has served as a director for almost a continuous 
period of more than forty years, and whose rare insight into financial matters 
has done much in building up the bank to the place of eminence it holds in 
the financial institutions of the city today. Walter G. Morse is the present 
president and Charles H. Churchill its cashier. Its deposits are more than a 
million dollars, with a capital and surplus of over five hundred thousand. 
Its board of directors are all prominent business men chosen for their sagac- 
ity and conservatism. They are Gurdon Bill (retired), Dwight O. Gilmore, 
Theodore W. Leete, Walter G. Morse, Henry M. Phillips, William P. Porter, 
Frank C. Rice, George A. Russell, Horace P. Wright. Notwithstanding 
the prosperous growth of the several other banks of subsequent origin, the 
old Springfield has steadily grown and maintained its reputation for con- 
servatism combined with liberality to its patrons. 

The Chicopee National Bank was started as the Chicopee bank, 
twenty-two years after the Springfield bank, by the class of small traders 
and mechanics whose needs were looked upon with some disdain by the 
aristocracy of the old bank, whose funds were all absorbed in carrying the 
great manufacturing enterprises of the time. Its first president was George 
Bliss, and the first cashier, Henry Seymour. It became a national bank in 
1865, and for many years Thomas Warner, Jr., was cashier. The present 
organization of the bank is as follows: President, Arthur B. West; cashier, 
Fdward Pynchon; directors, George S. Taylor, Horace A. Moses, I. H. Page, 
G. Frank Adams, Silas L. Kenyon, Charles L. Goodhue, Arthur B. West. 

The John Hancock National Bank. Two years before Springfield 
in 1852 achieved the dignity of a municipality the John Hancock bank was 
organized, finding its first location on Armory Hill, where C. C. Merritt's 
drug store now stands. Conspicuously displayed in front of the building 
was a white carved wooden bust of the famous John Hancock, president of 
the Continental Congress of '76, whose bold challenging signature shines 
fgrth so heroically on the immortal Declaration of Independence. Seven 
years later it was wisely determined to move the institution to the business 
section of the city, where it now is on Main street near Fort. The capitaliza- 



2IO Springfield Present and Prospective 

tion of the bank was ;Sioo,ooo, which was increased to ^150,000 in 1865, 
at which time it received its charter as a national bank. Sometime 
later the capital stock was brought to $250,000, where it remains today. 
The first president was Col. James M. Thompson, who was succeeded 
by Roger S. Moore, and in turn was succeeded by E. D. Chapin in 1890. 
The golden year of Mr. Chapin's connection with the bank was passed in 
1890, as he had been its cashier from the time of its establishment in 1850 
down to the day when he accepted its presidency, and now after more than 
half a century of honorable active work he is every day, rain or shine, found 
in constant attendance at his duties. E. Dudley Chapin, a nephew of E. D. 
Chapin, entered the bank February I, 1880, as bookkeeper. He afterwards 
became teller, and when his uncle was made president he was elected to 
succeed him as cashier, and holds that position today. The directorate of 
the bank includes E. D. Chapin, E. C. Rogers, Edw. H. Wilkinson, John 
Kimberly, Henry S. Dickinson, L. Z. Cutler and E. Dudley Chapin. 

The First National Bank was the first in this country to apply for 
organization under the national bank act. Other applications reached 
Washington first, but its number is 14. At first the capital stock was 
$150,000, but it was soon increased to $300,000, and afterward to $400,000. 
Throughout its career it has been managed upon the principle that the 
interests of the bank and its patrons are identical. James Kirkham was its 
first president and served in that capacity for many years. He was succeeded 
by John Olmsted, upon whose death James W. Kirkham was elected presi- 
dent. D. A. Folsom is cashier. The present directors are H. J. Beebe, 
John West, B. Frank Steele, James W. Kirkham, D. A. Folsom, Peter 
Murray. 

The Third National Bank, universally acknowledged to be one of the 
strongest and most influential banking institution in the city, was organized 
under the national banking laws in 1864, and from its inception to the present 
time has stood as firm and solid as the rock of Gibraltar. Its organizers were 
the Honorable George Walker, former bank commissioner of Massachusetts 
under the state system and for some years our consul-general at Paris, and 
Frederick H. Harris, who has had the active management of the institution 
from its beginning, first as its cashier, and since 1886 as its president, at 
which time his son, Frederick Harris, became its cashier. With a capital of 
$500,000 it has accumulated a surplus of equal amount besides paying its 
stockholders ten per cent annual dividends amounting to $2,125,000. It is 
a designated depositary of the United States and has always furnished the 
large sums of money necessary for the Armory located here. The bank has 
been characterized by its judicious circumspect and faithful management, 
which has enabled the corporation to stand unshaken through panics and 
business depressions. The Messrs. Harris have a wide reputation as able 





^liigh Sffiool Boys on the Connecticut 'The Bridge at Indian Leap, Indian Orchard 



spring-field Present and Prospective 21 1 

financiers, and are directors and trustees in the most prominent local insti- 
tutions, some of which are the Springfield railway companies, the Springfield 
Fire and Marine Insurance company, the Springfield Gas Light company, 
The Springfield Institution for Savings, the Holyoke Water Power company, 
and the Holyoke Street Railway company. The officers and directors are 
as follows: F. H. Harris, president, Frederick Harris, cashier. Directors: 
F. H. Harris, J. S. McFlwain, H. A. Gould, Aaron Bagg, Jr., A. W. Damon, 
Frederick Harris and Joseph Shattuck, Jr. 

The Chapin National Bank, at the corner of Main and Lyman street, 
was originally the Chapin Banking and Trust company, organized in 1872 
as a banking adjunct of Chester W. Chapin's large interests. It became a 
national bank in 1878, having as president William K. Baker, who had 
been for many years the confidential business adviser and right-hand man 
of Mr. Chapin. The capital stock is $500,000, its surplus ;?475,ooo, while 
its deposits amount to over a million and a half. Its president is W. F. Cal- 
lender and its cashier George R. Yerrall. The directors are James A. 
Rumrill, Edward S. Bradford, Samuel R. Whiting, W. F. Callender, Charles 

C. Jenks, Chester W. Bliss, W. W. McClench, Francis de V. Thompson and 
George R. Yerrall. 

The City National Bank was organized in 1879 with James D. SafFord 
as president, and has been successful from the start and now ranks fourth 
in point of size among the national banks of the city. In the first twenty-five 
years of its existence its total net earnings were $635,000, an average of more 
than ten per cent per year on its capital stock of §250,000. The present 
cashier is William E. Gilbert. The following compose the board of directors: 
Nelson C. Newell, James B. Carroll. Luke S. Snow, Louis F. Carr, Edwin 
A. Carter, Lewis J. Powers, George Nye, Jr., Charles C. Abby, and James 

D. SafFord, president. 

The Springfield Safe Deposit and Trust Company occupies a 
unique position among the financial institutions of this city. No institution 
of its kind enjoys a more honorable reputation or is doing better service m 
its specified field, or is more widely or favorably known than this company. 
It began business in 1886, and in a comparatively short time has come to 
be recognized as one of the leading banks of the city. By recent report of 
the savings bank commissioners of Massachusetts, its deposits are the largest 
of any discount bank in the state outside of Boston, with the exception of 
one in Worcester, amounting to $3,654,352.72. The present officers are 
J. G. Mackintosh, president; W. A. Lincoln, vice-president, and George 
H. Kemarer, treasurer. The following compose the board of directors: 
J. G. Mackintosh, Samuel Bigelow, A. B. Wallace, Joseph Metcalf, Luke 
Corcoran, W. A. Lincoln, Edwin McF.lwain, W. S. Robinson, S. L. Haynes, 
W. H. Heywood, A. A. Marston, George H. Kemater, Joseph A. Skinner. 



212 Springfield Present and Prospective 

The Springfield National Bank is the youngest of Springfield's 
financial institutions, being organized in 1893, and is one of the most wisely 
managed as well as successful banking houses of the city. The bank was 
organized by Henry H. Bowman, who was ably assisted by Ralph P. Alden, 
and under their aggressive and enterprising management has achieved signal 
success. It has a capital of ^(250,000, the surplus and profits amounting to 
^308,500 and the deposits running well over $2,000,000. Henry H. Bowman 
is president, Robert W. Day, vice-president, and Ralph P. Alden, cashier. 
The directors are Robert W. Day, Ralph W. Ellis, W. D. Kinsman, Franklin 
Pierce, F. G. Tobey, Michael Dunn, William C. Simons, C. A. Crocker, 
George W. Tapley, Henry H. Bowman, Ralph P. Alden. 

The Hampden Trust Company, having been granted a charter in 
1887, was reorganized in 1905 with a paid-in capital of §200,000. It has a 
board of directors whose names are a guarantee of good faith and conserva- 
tive management. Its president is Edward S. Bradford, formerly state 
treasurer, and its treasurer is Joseph C. Allen. The following compose the 
board of directors: James A. Rumrill, Charles A. Vialle, William W. Mc- 
Clench, Samuel R. Whiting, George M. Holbrook, Peter Murray, C. H. 
Hobbs, Alfred Leeds, Henry C. Haile, George R. ^'errali, Joseph C. Allen 
(treasurer of the company), and Edward S. Bradford. 

The Springfield Institution for Savings, the oldest of Springfield's 
savings banks, was organized in 1827, being the tenth in the state. John 
Hooker was its first president, and the list of prominent and shrewd financiers 
wlio succeeded him in guiding the affairs ot the institution up to the present 
day were in themselves a guarantee of the solid principles on which the bank 
was being conducted. They included George Bliss, Theodore Bliss, William 
Dwight, Josiah Hooker, James M. Thompson, John B. Stebbins, Henry S. 
Lee, Julius H. Appleton and John A. Hall the present encumbent. John 
Howard was the first treasurer; he resigned to Henry Stearns in 1849, who, 
in 1858, gave way to Henry S. Lee, who served in that capacity till 1899, 
when he was elected president. Joseph C. Booth then became treasurer, 
but resigned in 1902 in favor of Joseph Shattuck, Jr., who is the present 
treasurer. The bank receives deposits up to $1,000, and allows principal 
and interest to accumulate to the amount of $1,600 for each depositor. 
Since its organization this institution has received deposits amounting 
to $80,723,248.39; has distributed $15,229,041.84 in dividends, and made 
payments to its depositors aggregating $78,602,236.11. The institution has 
purchased a lot fronting on Elm and West State streets, being the westerly 
part of the lot now occupied by the Elm Street school, and in the near future 
will there erect a building for its sole use. The Springfield Institution for 
Savings has at present 42,979 depositors, and the amount deposited is 
$17,350,054.12. The officers are as follows: John A. Hall, president; Win- 



spring-field Present and Prospective 213 

ford N. Caldwell, vice-president; Joseph Shattuck, Jr., treasurer and clerk; 
John W. B. Brand, assistant treasurer. Trustees: John A. Hall, A. A. 
Packard, Edward P. Chapin, A. B. West, Frederick Harris, Homer L. Bos- 
worth, W. N. Caldwell, John McFethries, A. W. Damon, Joseph Shattuck, 
Jr., William W. McClench. Auditors: W. C. Marsh, G. Frank Adams, 
George Dwight Pratt. 

The Five Cents Savings Bank of this city was chartered April, 1854, 
and has a record of usefulness that may well cause its depositors' and 
officials' hearts to swell with pride. It was founded upon a plan suggested 
by George W. Rice, the idea being to encourage thrifty habits among the 
working classes, and the minimum amount of deposit — five cents — was a 
stroke of genius, for it at once attracted the amused attention of many who, 
keeping large accounts with other banks, "encouraged" the new institution 
by taking out books recording the deposit of a half-dime, which they delighted 
in exhibiting among their friends in ridicule or as a joke, little thinking that 
this was just what Mr. Rice desired and the most effective manner of adver- 
tising the enterprise. Some of those who began thus in a spirit of banter 
continued in serious earnest, and thus was laid the foundation of an institu- 
tion that in a career of more than fifty years has conferred benefits untold 
upon all classes, from the ragged newsboy up to the great man of affairs. 
The opening occurred in July, 1854, offices having been secured in Foot's 
building, corner of Main and State streets; Willis Phelps was president, and 
Joseph C. Pynchon, treasurer. Upon the retirement of Mr. Phelps in 1858, 
Mr. Pynchon was promoted to the presidency, and the next year Charles 
Marsh was made treasurer. Daniel J. Marsh was chosen treasurer in 1859, 
to the duties of which position were added those of secretary in 1881, the dual 
services of the position having been performed by him without interruption — 
except during the years 1862-63, when he served as lieutenant of Company 
A, 46th Massachusetts, and on the staffs of Generals H. C. Lee, John A. 
Dix, and John G. Foster. 

This institution occupied its present building in 1876, where it has con- 
tinued to prosper under wise management, controlling a constantly increasing 
volume of deposits from one dollar to thousands, with profit to depositors. 
It has received deposits amounting to nearly $30,000,000, and now has on 
deposit about seven million dollars. Ephraim W. Bond succeeded to the 
presidency in 1889, and on his death in 1891 Rev. William Rice was made 
president. Mr. Rice was followed in 1897 by Robert O. Morris, who still 
holds the office. The official board as constituted at present is as follows: 
Robert O. Morris, president; Daniel J. Marsh, treasurer; Henry D. Marsh, 
assistant treasurer and clerk. Trustees: Robert O. Morris, Henry M. 
Phillips, Charles A. Nichols, Alfred M. Copeland, Henry D. Marsh, William 
H. Gray, Aaron Bagg, Newrie D. Winter, Edwin F. Lyford, Daniel J. 



214 



Springfield Present and Prospective 



Marsh, Oliver Marsh, Ralph W. I- Ills, James H. Pynchon, George Leonard, 
Thomas Y. Cordis. Finance committee: Oliver Marsh, N. D. Winter, 
William H. Gray. Auditing committee: Alfred M. Copeland, George 
Leonard, Thomas Y. Cordis. 

The Hampden Savings Bank was organized in 1852 with Albert 
Morgan as its first president; he was succeeded by F.liphalet Trask, who in 
turn was succeeded by Charles L. Gardner. Peter S. Bailey has served in 
the capacity of treasurer since 1872. H. S. Hyde and Lewis ]. Powers are 
vice-presidents, and J. B. Phelps is assistant treasurer. The last report of 
the treasurer shows the amount due depositors to be S,^,584,36q; the gain in 
deposits for the past year, 5126,534.40, and the gain in open accounts, 278. 
The trustees are Louis C. Hyde, Llijah Belding, F. F. Carpenter, E. Dudley 
Chapin, J. D. Safford, W. F. Callendcr, W. F. Wright, Mase S. Southworth, 
Dwight O. Gilmore, George R. Esterbrook, F. H. Stebbins, E. T. TifFt. 




(iirbou loViclp .§)pvin!j(idti ! ^c thou apcino 

<?f noble enterprise! 
?Cnti be tliou liclCr vohciitc men mil? brinij 

Cf brotlirrbooO the priic! 
i"or tbou nuist lirlp to sprcnS abroab 

Clic hope of all maiihinO, 
J'orgcttnio not tbou Ctinrst of ©Ob, 

Jtnb art to ffioD consioncb. 

— Cbatlcs ilBoobticb ^bitino 



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